New Jersey closes in
on legal sports wagering
November
29
Next week in the state of
New Jersey,
an Assembly committee is
holding hearings on a bill
to make sports betting legal
there. Still, lawmakers must
overcome many hurdles before
this new law can go into
effect.
In most
states, federal law prohibits
betting on sports. Alas, in New
Jersey, lawmakers are keen
on sports betting as a way to
fight off the state's debt.
Also, by legalizing sports
betting the state will be
helping struggling Atlantic City
casinos fight competition.
Albio
Sires, the Assembly Speaker,
announced that he supports
sports wagering as an attempt to
help erase what some report as a
$4 billion hole in the next New
Jersey budget.
The new a
cting
Governor of New Jersey is
evaluating the bill. He has not
announced whether or not he is
in favor of or against it yet.
Additionally,
the Governor has not directed
the attorney general to
challenge a federal law that
would ban the state from
legalizing sports betting.
The bill
would raise approximately $92.5
million for a mixture of
different programs by taxing an
approximated $1 billion in
wagering. If legalized, wagers
are to be made in person at a
casino. Wagers will not be
allowed on any college or
university campuses or on
amateur sports events.
To date, f
ederal
law permits sports betting in
Delaware, Montana, Nevada and
Oregon, but Nevada and Oregon
are the only states to offer it.
Nevada has full-service sports
books. Oregon has a state-run
professional football pool held
during the football season.
Back in
1994, the federal government
allowed the state of New Jersey
the chance at legalizing sports
wagering. However, those in
favor of legalizing it fell
short of finding enough
proponents in the case,
so it never went before voters.
In the
state of Nevada alone, last
years total amount wagered on
sports was almost $2 billion.
