No one would ever accuse Gov. Christie of being reserved, of not speaking his mind, or of not taking chances.
No one.
Last week, he solidified that once again when he decided to lift New Jersey’s ban on sports betting. His decision — which came as a surprise to many around the state and nation — is in direct opposition to what he said a month ago when he told us all to forget about sports gambling.
With the governor’s decision, and directive to law enforcement, casinos and horse race tracks can start offering bets on professional and collegiate sports — as soon as a judge affirms that what Christie is doing is legal, or at least isn’t illegal.
A federal law prohibits sports betting in all but four states. When New Jersey challenged that law, it went all the way up the legal ladder, but the Supreme Court decided not to hear the case. So, alas, no overturn of the federal law.
But a federal appeals court just below the Supreme Court said nothing was preventing New Jersey from repealing its own ban and not regulating the industry — much like the states of Washington and Colorado do with marijuana.
So last week, that’s what Christie did. He repealed the state ban on sports betting and said New Jersey won’t regulate, license or authorize sports betting officially. Acting state Attorney General John Hoffman said, in fact, that the state will be telling casinos and tracks that they won’t be held liable for sports wagering.
It’s not the avenue that Christie, or any one else at the state level, wanted to take, but it seems as though it’s the road they feel they were forced down — because they want sports wagering so badly.
And can you blame them for this? Three Atlantic City casinos shut down in the last month, and one more, the Trump Taj Mahal, just announced it would be closing in November. Those four closings will eventually result in the loss of more than 10,000 jobs and be a hit on a big tax money-maker for the state.
Bets can’t be placed yet — a federal court is expected to affirm Christie’s position in a few weeks — and when they are, you won’t be able to bet on any professional sports event held in New Jersey (no Jets, Giants or Devils home games) or on any New Jersey college team no matter where they play (no Ray Rice alma mater). Everything else, though, will be offered on the big board.
While the NFL and other professional sports leagues might fight this move, it’s unlikely they will prevail forever. Even NBA commissioner Adam Silver said it’s “inevitable” and that his league will “ultimately participate in that.”
Will this be the shot in the arm New Jersey’s gambling landscape needs? Can it finally, once and for all, turn into Las Vegas East? It’s hard to tell.
