Gambling911.com Publisher Chris Costigan Quoted in Daily Record re: NJ Sports Betting

Bob Jordan of the Daily Record quoted Gambling911.com’s Publisher Chris Costigan in regards to the possibility that the National Football League might threaten to pull out of its commitment to host the 2014 Super Bowl in the Meadowlands should sports betting become legalized in the state of New Jersey.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see the NFL test the waters a bit to see what the initial reaction would be should they threaten to pull the Super Bowl,” said Costigan.  ““It would turn out to be a PR nightmare on their part and would go against the will of the people who have voted in favor of legalized sports betting in the state.”

Governor Chris Christie promised that any opposition from the NFL would not get in the way of pushing forward.  Christie jumped on the bandwagon offering his full support just days before a referendum was presented to voters of his state.  His support is likely to widen after seeing that 65 percent of state residents voted in favor of allowing sports wagering in Atlantic City and the state’s race tracks.

A federal ban affecting the state must be lifted or repealed before anything can move forward.  A suit will be filed against the US Justice Department by the likes of State Senator Raymond Lesniak, who drafted initial legislation.   The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, a grass roots organization dedicated to seeing that states overturn archaic gambling laws, has also been at the forefront of the New Jersey sports betting issue.

Christie’s position, which at first was a bit vague, could not be any clearer: 

“The people of New Jersey want sports betting, which is clear to me now, by a 2-1 margin almost that they do. One of my jobs as governor is to listen to the people,” Christie said. “They’ve spoken. I’ll work as hard as I can to try to make it a reality. I want to caution the people that it’s going to be a long process. ‘’

He understands the NFL is opposed to such a state measure. 

“I find this kind of funny, actually. There’s betting going on the NFL knows about every Sunday. We have betting every week, as we do for every week of every NFL season. The idea that somehow it’s more threatening to have that done publicly in a regulated manner than to have it done by organized crime and other criminals underground is kind of a mystifying position to me,” he said.

- Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com