WASHINGTON -- New Jersey won a landmark ruling from the Supreme Court Monday that could lead many states to legalize betting on college and professional sports.

The justices ruled 7-2 that a 25-year-old federal law that has effectively prohibited sports betting outside Nevada cannot block states such as New Jersey that want to set up sports books. The ruling could set the stage for other states to expand legalized gambling as a source of government revenue. 

Justice Samuel Alito, a New Jersey native, wrote the court's opinion in the case. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

It was a victory for the state's recently departed governor, Chris Christie, who had challenged the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, passed by Congress in 1992 to preserve the integrity of the nation's most popular sports.

It was a defeat for the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the four major professional sports leagues -- baseball, football, basketball and hockey -- that had successfully blocked New Jersey in lower courts. 

The court's action could jump-start action in Congress to pass legislation calling for federal regulation of sports betting -- something the sports leagues would prefer over separate rules from state to state.

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