New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is back in the sports betting fight as his administration has issued a ruling allowing the state’s casinos and racetracks to offer sports betting.
A legal challenge to the ruling from the various sports leagues and the federal government seems like a sure bet, but so far there have been no comments from the leagues on the administration’s ruling.
The governor—adapting a legal interpretation echoed throughout the state legislature’s attempt to implement sports betting—pointed to previous federal court rulings that nothing in federal law prohibits casinos and racetracks from offering sports betting as long as it is not sponsored or licensed by the state.
Christie last month vetoed a bill passed by the legislature after proponents argued exactly the same thing.
The administration took the action through the state Attorney General’s Office. The ruling looks to arguments made during the state’s previous fight to overturn a federal ban on sports betting in the U.S. with the exception of four states.
New Jersey voters endorsed legal sports betting in a nonbinding referendum in 2011 and the state soon enacted a law to allow betting at tracks and casinos. That move was challenged by the professional sports leagues and the NCAA. The U.S. Department of Justice also challenged the law.
The state repeatedly lost its bid to overturn the ban in federal court culminating with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to hear the state’s final appeal. However, proponents of sports betting in the state pointed to legal arguments given by federal attorneys in the various court cases that said the state had the right to repeal its own bans on sports betting.
“Based on the arguments of the sports leagues and the United States Department of Justice, the 3rd Circuit has already ruled that New Jersey can carry out sports wagering as described in today’s statewide directive,” the governor’s office wrote in a statement. “The motion simply would clarify and formalize that authority and give clear guidance to casinos and racetracks waiting to open a sports pool in New Jersey.”
In the announcement, Acting State Attorney General John Hoffman said the state was not regulating, licensing or otherwise authorizing sports betting, but simply directing casinos and racetracks that they won’t be held liable for offering sports betting. Hoffman said certain parts of a sports-betting law signed by Christie in 2012 remain intact and that people complying with it should not be arrested or prosecuted.
There are some restrictions, however. Bets on any New Jersey college sports teams, regardless of where they play, would not be allowed and betting on any college sports or college athletic events that occur in New Jersey would not be allowed.
Christie later said he would neither encourage nor discourage racetracks and casinos from offering a sports book.
Still, the administration has filed a motion in federal court asking a judge to clarify or modify a February 2013 ruling that blocked the state’s previous law, which would have licensed sports betting. A ruling on the motion is expected October 6.
Though Christie said he believes the state’s racetracks and casinos can begin offering sports betting immediately, only one entity—Monmouth Park Racetrack—announced plans to move quickly. Officials for the track told the Associated Press they hoped to begin sports wagering by the weekend—to take advantage of the NFL’s week two games—or at least within 30 days from the state’s announcement. Racetrack officials later backed off that timeline and now aim at a November launch.
The Oceanport, New Jersey track has been working on a sports betting room for the last year in conjunction sports-betting firm William Hill, track officials said.
No other racetrack or any of the Atlantic City casinos announced similar plans and most analysts feel the casinos will wait for further court clarifications before making a move.
The move is a stunning reversal for Christie, who had seemed inclined to take the U.S. Supreme Court decision not to hear the case as the final word.
“This is what we’ve been working to achieve: to allow sports betting in New Jersey that is legally sanctioned and beneficial to the casinos, racetracks and the state’s economy. It comes at a key time for the casino industry in Atlantic City,” said state Senator Raymond Lesniak, who sponsored the previous bill to allow sports betting and has been the state’s strongest advocate of sports betting.
“Sports betting will help restore lost jobs and position New Jersey as a leader in a business with national and international appeal. It’s good that the governor reversed course,” Lesniak said in a press release. “After vetoing my legislation that would have achieved the same goal, the administration’s actions today will allow the state to take advantage of an important economic opportunity.”
Lesniak had been working to get the votes needed to overturn Christie’s veto, and that may have led in part to the governor reversing his position. Lesniak now plans to introduce new legislation designed to bolster the state’s position on sports betting he said.
The legislation—like his previous bill—would abolish language that prevents sports betting from state laws to help the state withstand any challenges. Lesniak said he expects the state’s action to be challenged in court by the sports leagues, but said he doesn’t think they can block the state.
“They don’t have any arguments left to make,” Lesniak told the AP. “This is all over but the shouting.”
The mention of a “sports pool” in the ruling was just a “poor choice of words,” according to Lesniak. “This will be traditional sports betting,” the senator tweeted.
Proponents of sports betting hope it will provide revenue for the state’s race tracks and Atlantic City’s casinos, both of which have been struggling. Atlantic City has already seen three casinos close this year and two more are expected to close by the end of 2014.
But several most analysts don’t think the move will have much of an impact. According to the AP, Nevada—the only state with a true sports book—took in $3.5 billion in sports wagers in 2012, but about 95 percent of that was returned to gamblers through winnings.
Still, Lesniak and proponents say the benefit comes more from the excitement and crowds sports betting will draw to the tracks and casinos.
Though the move is expected to be challenged, it does come after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was quoted as saying he thinks sports betting spreading to more states is inevitable.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Sport Business Summit, Silver said that the NBA would not be against such moves.
“It’s inevitable that, if all these states are broke, that there will be legalized sports betting in more states than Nevada and we will ultimately participate in that,” Silver said, according to the International Business Times. “If you have a gentleman’s bet or a small wager on any kind of sports contest, it makes you that much more engaged in it. That’s where we’re going to see it pay dividends. If people are watching a game and clicking to bet on their smartphones, which is what people are doing in the United Kingdom right now, then it’s much more likely you’re going to stay tuned for a long time.”
