Lawmakers Drum Up Sports Betting Support
Two lawmakers from the state of New Jersey have introduced separate bills to help advance the cause of sports betting, the local news blog NorthJersey.com has reported.
This week two United States Representatives pounded the boardwalk touting the idea, the duo being Representative Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd) and Representative Frank Pallone (D-6th).
Representatives dispute potential ill effect on professional sports teams
Allowing sports bets to be placed in Atlantic City’s twelve casinos would serve to benefit the city’s – and the entire state’s – economy, say the two Representatives.
Those who oppose regulated sports betting often point to the fact that allowing such wagers to be placed might potentially cause fiscal harm to professional sports teams, something that Congressman LoBiondo disagrees with.
“We think that the arguments by the leagues that this is going to be bad for professional sports, almost says on their part that illegal betting isn’t taking place now, which it is, to the tune of 500 billion dollars a year,” Representative LoBiondo said.
Both pieces of legislation could eventually mean sports betting in New Jersey
If passed, either bill could result in sports betting being permitted in New Jersey.
Congressman LoBiondo’s legislation seeks to allow for sports betting to be conducted in any state in the nation, whereas the measure introduced by Representative Pallone deals only with the state of New Jersey.
“The legislative process is a long and tortuous one that we’ve started on. We believe that we can keep generating interest as we move along with our colleagues. If this 3rd Circuit court were to rule in our favor, this makes our jobs much easier. In fact, it eliminates our job and gets us to the finish line a whole lot sooner,” LoBiondo said this week from Atlantic City’s famous boardwalk.
Court case could be ultimate determining factor
The court case to which LoBiondo was referring is an appeal heard in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, upon which a judgement is expected to be handed down soon, dealing with a more than twenty year old federal law that restricts betting on sporting events to the state of Nevada only.
Remarking upon the case, Congressman Pallone said, “New Jersey voted for and deserves the same opportunity for sports betting which has been allowed in other states, and I hope that the court’s upcoming decision puts an end to the delay that is robbing New Jerseyans of the opportunity to share in the profits of sports betting.”
“Making sports betting legal in New Jersey would not only help to stem the criminal activity associated with sports gambling, it would also pump much needed revenue into to our state by taking the gambling out of the shadows and regulating this billion dollar industry,” Pallone told reporters.
Atlantic City desperate to improve economy
Atlantic City, which was once eponymous with east coast gaming, long held the title of the second-largest gambling market in the United States. Last year it lost that distinction, as Pennsylvania was able to move into the number two spot as more gamblers chose to drive a short distance to newer casino properties in the Philadelphia area.
As Atlantic City scrambles to find ways to shore up revenue losses, consistently on the decline since a peak gambling year in 2006, many are pinning their hopes on online gambling in addition to sports betting, should the case go that way.
New Jersey became the third state in the nation to legalize some form of Internet-based wagering when Republican Governor Chris Christie signed into law a comprehensive online gambling bill this past February.
