Gov. Chris Christie signs Legal Sports Betting Bill

All eyes were on Governor Chris Christie in New Jersey this weekend. Both the State Assembly and State Senate recently ed a bill that could legalize sports betting in the Garden State, and it was up to Christie to either sign or veto the legislation. And the governor chose to sign the sports betting bill into law on Friday.

However, it’s worth mentioning that the legislation still faces challenges from the NCAA and several professional sports leagues. Professional and collegiate sports organizations see New Jersey sports betting as something that could potentially corrupt their leagues. This is especially the case since the NHL’s New Jersey Devils are located in the state while the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets play in East Rutherford, NJ.

Nevertheless, Gov. Christie is prepared to take these challenges head on and he awaits a decision by the U.S. District Court. Here’s a look at what he said after g the bill into effect:

As I’ve said all along, I am a strong proponent of legalized sports wagering in New Jersey. But given earlier decisions by federal courts, it was critical that we follow a correct and appropriate path to curtail new court challenges and expensive litigation. I believe we have found that path in this bipartisan legislative effort.

Earlier this year, Christie vetoed a bill that would have repealed New Jersey’s ban on sports betting. However, he told the state attorney general’s office not to prosecute any casinos or racetracks that offer sports betting. The most recent piece of legislation that Christie did sign puts sports wagering in the hands of private entities rather than under government regulation. And this appears to be the change that helped sway the governor this time around.

The argument that’s been made by outspoken New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak is that they should be allowed to offer sports betting if Nevada can. Nevada is one of four states that was grandfathered into the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. However, Lesniak has argued all along that it’s not right to exclude all but four states from offering legal sports wagering.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp will soon rule on whether or not he agrees with New Jersey’s most recent efforts to enact sports betting.