\nTRENTON, N.J. (AP) \u2013 State lawmakers passed a measure that could clear the way for sports betting in New Jersey, aiming to boost the state\u2019s ailing casino and racetrack industries.<\/p>\n
\tThe bill is the latest in a years-long effort to authorize sports wagering, a push that still faces legal challenges. The state Senate passed the measure on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\tDemocratic State Sen. Raymond Lesniak authored the bill that partially repeals prohibition of sports betting.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAtlantic City is hemorrhaging and our racetracks are bleeding and they need the boost in revenues that this legislation will provide,\u201d Lesniak said.<\/p>\n
\tSupporters of the measure suggested it could help the state\u2019s gambling industry. Four of Atlantic City\u2019s 12 casinos have closed this year.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cPeople are betting with their local bookie, for the most part, except for Vegas. It\u2019s not a comfortable environment,\u201d said Dennis Drazin, an adviser to Monmouth Park Racetrack and a supporter of the effort. \u201cSo this would give the public the confidence and the ability to bet in a way that\u2019s not illegal. It would be a good thing for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe vote comes as Gov. Chris Christie is engaged in a legal battle with pro sports leagues and the NCAA over sports betting.<\/p>\n
\tProfessional sports leagues and the NCAA have objected to the practice.<\/p>\n
\tThe legal fight reaches back to 2011 when New Jersey voters approved the practice in a referendum. In 2012, the Legislature passed and the governor signed into law a sports wagering measure.<\/p>\n
\tBut the four professional sports leagues and the NCAA sued, seeking to halt the wagering, and U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp ruled that a 1992 federal law limiting sports gambling to four states was constitutional. Shipp issued an injunction to halt New Jersey from proceeding with the gambling.<\/p>\n
\tThe U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case on appeal.<\/p>\n
\tEarlier this year Christie vetoed another bill that would have repealed the state\u2019s prohibitions against sports betting, but then seemed to reverse course, ordering the attorney general not to prosecute casinos and racetracks if they offered betting that was not regulated by the state.<\/p>\n
\tThe leagues criticized the move, calling the governor\u2019s effort a \u201cblatant attempt to circumvent\u201d the court\u2019s injunction. Shipp recently postponed oral arguments until Oct. 31.<\/p>\n
\tThe Assembly is expected to vote Thursday on the issue.<\/p>\n
\tA spokesman for the governor declined to comment on the legislation.<\/p>\n
No replies were posted for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) \u2013 State lawmakers passed a measure that could clear the way for sports betting in New Jersey, aiming to boost the state\u2019s ailing casino and racetrack industries. The bill is the latest in a years-long effort to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8157\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}