New Jersey sports betting bill awaits the Governor's pleasure

New Jersey governor Chris Christie is again the man on which the Garden State’s sports betting legalisation hopes ride following the overwhelmingly strong positive vote for legalisation in both the state House and the Senate earlier this month.

It’s a long-running story for New Jersey, which has been trying unsuccessfully to persuade a series of US courts to allow it to by-pass the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which restricts sports betting to just four US states (see previous reports).

Following the refusal to hear the case by the US Supreme Court earlier this year, New Jersey Senator Ray Lesniak turned federal agency arguments on the issue against them by introducing a new sports betting bill allowing sports bets at Atlantic City casinos and state racetracks.

The bill now sits on Governor Christie’s desk awaiting signature into law before the deadline of August 10.

Christie has so far given little indication of his intentions on the bill, and this week Lesniak prodded the governor by launching an online petition from residents in the state urging the governor to sign.

The petition can be accessed here: http://raymondlesniak.com/start-sports-betting-in-new-jersey/