Chris Christie was in the news last week because of a radio interview he did regarding New Jersey sports betting, as they’ve made the decision to try and legalize the activity. Sitting in as a special co-host on the Boomer and Carton in the Morning show in New York City, Christie suggested that it was ridiculous that only Nevada is allowed to offer single game sports betting and that the law should be changed to treat all states equally.
Not surprisingly Christie disagreed with the lower federal court ruling in March where a judge sided with the sports leagues and ruled that PASPA (the 1992 federal bill that currently prohibits states other than Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana from offering sports betting) is constitutional and that Congress has the right to regulate states differently with regards to sports betting. But Christie also acknowledged that the final decision on PASPA’s constitutionality will not be decided in the lower courts and that as governor he is willing to take the challenge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court for a final ruling.
Christie also argued that the leagues were being disingenuous in their comments that sports betting needs to stay a criminal activity to protect the fairness of the games, saying “That is the folly of the leagues’ argument — that somehow if you legalize it, take it out of the hands of criminals, that somehow you are destabilizing the leagues. I mean, only the commissions of these leagues and the NCAA can make that argument with a straight face,”
In an effort to show support for New Jersey sports betting, and that they don’t agree with the current sports betting laws, Monmouth Park raceway this week introduced a play for free contest where customers can submit picks against the spread at a William Hill kiosk at the track and the person who picks the most winners for the week gets $2,000 while second place wins $500. There is also a $250 Thursday proposition card and in total over $50,000 will be handed out to winners. Because it’s a free contest it doesn’t violate any laws but it will introduce customers to William Hill and whet New Jersey resident’s appetites for when they could possibly bet on NFL games for real.
While Christie is right that PASPA is unfair and that New Jersey is losing out on a lot of potential revenue, one as to wonder whether his fight will cost him politically in his expected run for the 2016 Republican nomination. Chris Christie was the favorite to win the Republican nomination at most online sportsbooks only 3 months ago but he has since dropped to as high as 10/1 odds and currently trails Paul Ryan, Marcio Rubio and Jeb Bush.
I questioned one European company that has been creating these odds as to why Christie’s price has been creeping up and a bookmaker at the company said that they believe Christie is just too moderate to win the Republican nomination and the more he comes out in favor of issues like gay marriage, online gambling and sports betting the more he will disassociate himself with the majority of the Republican Party who are still very conservative. This story on the prospects of New Jersey sports betting originally appeared on the Offshore Gaming Association website.
