New Jersey Governor Chris Christie: Legalized Sports Betting in the State by September

Christie’s stance on legalizing sports betting leads many to believe he will finally support online poker in the state as well

In a speech Thursday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie didn’t pull any punches, announcing he would like sports betting legalized in time for the start of the NFL season this September. 

A federal law currently bans sports betting in all but four states.  Neighboring Delaware began offering parlay sports betting nearly three years ago.   Christie’s speech makes it clear he will defy the federal ban.

“It will be another exciting way to add to the experience here in Atlantic City, and I know this is something people have been waiting for for a long time,” Christie announced on the Atlantic City boardwalk. “We’ll be ready to go, I hope, this fall with a whole new phase of gaming.

“We intend to go forward and allow sports gambling to happen. If someone wants to stop us, then they’ll have to take action to try and stop us.”

An Election Day referendum last November resulted in approximately 65 percent of New Jersey residents voting in favor of legalized sports betting. 

Casino executives in Atlantic City generally support the idea of legalized sports betting.

"I love the idea of playing offense and having the federal government have to play defense against us," said Tony Rodio, president of Tropicana Entertainment, which owns the Tropicana in Atlantic City, as well as casinos in several other states. "But I don't know who's going to want to be the first to open knowing they can shut you down. We'd need a lot more clarity before we invested lots of money in a sports book."

Likewise, Aaron Gomes, vice president of Resorts Casino Hotel, said the concept of moving ahead unilaterally is appealing but risky.

"It's going to be hard to find someone willing to take the first jump," he said. "Particularly for companies that do business in multiple jurisdictions, they might not want to jeopardize their licenses in other states."

Sen. Raymond Lesniak, the Democratic lawmaker who tried to sue to overturn the federal ban, predicted the law would be overturned.

"To those with a vested interest in the status quo — the professional sports organizations who take a hypocritical stance that wagering will 'ruin the purity of the game,' and the Nevada-based gaming conglomerates that have enjoyed that state's stranglehold on sports wagering for the last 20 years — I respectfully say, 'Bring it on,'" he said in a statement. "The sooner you make an issue of New Jersey's noncompliance with an unconstitutional federal ban, the sooner we can defeat that ban in the courts, and put New Jersey on the same competitive footing as the rest of the nation when it comes to sports wagering."

Lesniak is also the co-author of a bill that would legalize online poker in the state. 

Christie would not comment on those efforts Thursday, noting that the legislature has yet to pass and send him a bill this year.

But the Governor’s speech leads many to believe he will support online poker regulation in the state.  Unlike sports betting, the US Justice Department changed its stance on Internet poker late last year, essentially giving the green light to states wishing to regulate the activity. 

Lesniak has suggested in the past that New Jersey could benefit by forming pacts with other states such as Colorado and Massachusetts, both of which have presented measures legalizing online poker. 

Neighboring Delaware has already announced its intentions to join forces with Rhode Island and West Virginia to offer online poker for real money play should its Legislature pass a recently drafted bill.

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher