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Following a decision by a New Jersey court on Monday, Governor Jon Corzine was granted permission to join a much ballyhooed law suit to legalize online sports betting in that state. The only problem is that Corzine lost the election on Tuesday to Republican candidate Chris Christie.
"We invested a lot of time into bringing Corzine on board," expressed Joe Brennan, Jr., whose trade organization, The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, is behind the legal challenge. "The decision allows for Chris Christie to join the suit if he wants."
Legalized online sports betting would likely generate millions of dollars for the state of New Jersey.
The US Justice Department had tried to prevent the New Jersey Governor, Jon Corzine, from taking part in the suit.
The plaintiffs have argued the law is unconstitutional because it favors certain states by allowing them to reap tax revenue from legal sports betting, while barring every other state from doing so.
"It's nice to clear this hurdle and move closer to a court considering the merits of our challenge," said Joe Brennan Jr., chairman of iMEGA, lead plaintiff in the suit. "It's ridiculous the DOJ opposed the motion. We expect they'll now ask the court to have all of the plaintiffs thrown out for lack of standing. It's a waste of time and effort, but it seems they'll do anything to prevent the court from examining this law."
Christie's win will not have an immediate effect on the challenge as there are still key players in New Jersey politics who remain in office, more specifically Senator Ray Lesniak.
Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
