Saying that the case is more than just a gambler’s issue, New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone has called on the acting US solicitor general to support their bid against a federal law that blocks most states from authorizing sports betting.

Pallone, in his 14-page letter to acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall, insisted that their petition in general challenges the power of Congress to compel any state under the anti-commandeering doctrine, which is bound up in the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The challenge posed by New Jersey against the 25-year-old Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which prohibits state from allowing sports betting, is merely secondary, according to Pallone.  The Democratic lawmaker further lamented in his letter that sports leagues tried to make the case turn on the balance between federal and state law.

Five states — Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, West Virginia and Wisconsin — have already thrown their support behind New Jersey. West Virginia plans to follow NJ’s sports betting legislation if the state becomes successful in it is bid.