New Jersey governor confident in winning sports betting litigation
News on 27 Aug 2013
News on 27 Aug 2013
New Jersey governor Chris Christie left listeners in no doubt about his determination to secure sports betting for his state in a New York morning radio show interview this week, assuring the audience that if necessary he is prepared to fight the case all the way to the US Supreme Court.
The governor was referring to the long-running – and for New Jersey so far unsuccessful – bid by the state to overturn or amend the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) which restricts sports betting to just 4 US states.
New Jersey has tangled with the national sports leagues, which want to maintain the restrictions, and the issue continues to be argued through the courts .
Following a positive referendum among New Jersey voters, the governor signed sports betting legislation into state law last year, triggering legal action from the major US sports leagues.
Christie maintains that the present restrictive system enshrined in the federal PASPA was open to political manipulation by states with a vested interest in maintaining their grip on legal sports betting in America…like Nevada.
“I think New Jersey is going to be victorious ultimately,” Christie said. “There is no reason why Las Vegas should have a monopoly on sports gambling.”
The governor also noted that the leagues were wrong in assuming that widening the sports betting market would destabilise their businesses, and he opined that current restrictive practices are perpetuating illegal sports betting by undesirable and unregulated elements.
