The New Jersey legislature is mulling lifting the restriction against the owner of the Golden Nugget Atlantic City accepting sports bets on National Basketball Association games.
The restriction was put in place last year because the owner, billionaire Tilman Fertitta also owns the casino – and also owns the NBA’s Houston Rockets. Actually the law doesn’t just affect Fertitta, but any sports team owner is prevented from betting on their sport. But the law was obviously written with him in mind.
Fertitta supporters pointed out that in Nevada he can bet on basketball games as long as they don’t involve his team.
Now a bill has been introduced that would bring New Jersey in line with Nevada law. Rep. Raj Mukherji, who sponsored the bill, told the AP “New Jersey’s sports wagering industry is new and fledgling, but if we take the handcuffs off, it could surpass Nevada as the largest market in the country within a few years.”
He added, “I don’t see the point of leaving out a potential significant participant in this new industry if sufficient regulation and integrity protections are in place. Nevada has long allowed this same arrangement.”
