A lawsuit joined by Governor Jon S. Corzine could open the door to legalized sports betting throughout New Jersey and bring a sports book to the Meadowlands Racetrack. The lawsuit, originally brought by state Senator Ray Lesniak (D-Union), seeks to overturn as unconstitutional a federal law banning sports betting in New Jersey and 45 other states. The federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) outlaws states and individuals from running sports books on games in which professional or amateur athletes participate. The 1992 law "grandfathered" in four states-Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon-exempting them from regulation. Delaware just introduced sports betting to its horse racing tracks.

Lesniak and Corzine claim this amounts to discrimination and a violation of state sovereignty that prevents some states from collecting significant revenues. "[W]e will not sit back and allow the selective prohibitions of this law to deprive New Jersey from the economic benefits sports betting can generate," Corzine said in announcing the filing. The Governor's decision to join the lawsuit comes at a time of continuing revenue declines for the state's horse-racing facilities-including the Meadowlands-and Atlantic City casinos, losses exacerbated by the economic recession. Partially as a result of declining tax revenues from gambling, Trenton is facing a billion-dollar budget gap.

Corzine specifically referred to the threat posed by neighboring Delaware's exemption from the law, saying PASPA "economically disadvantages New Jerseyans, while allowing select States, including Delaware, to collect revenues". East Rutherford Mayor James Cassella said that while the state should explore all its options for raising revenue, he would be wary of sports betting coming to the Meadowlands Racetrack. "I heard it with the state income tax. I heard it with the state sales tax. I heard with the lottery, with Atlantic City-how it was going to take care of all our financial problems. And now I'm hearing it with sports betting. And every time, Trenton finds a way to squander the money," Cassella said. In recent years, both houses of the New Jersey legislature have passed resolutions in support of sports betting. In February 2008, the Assembly passed a bill that would authorize some sports betting in casinos pending a voter referendum. The bill has yet to be taken up by the state Senate.

In June, the bill's sponsor, Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May), called on Senate President Richard Codey to post the bill, regardless of the federal ban. "Posting the bill is a calculated risk. If Senator Lesniak is successful in court, we want to have the legislative framework ready, so we can begin legal sports wagering at our State's casinos as soon as possible," Van Drew said. "However, if the bill moves through the Legislature and becomes law before…[a legal victory] our efforts to implement legal sports betting would most likely garner a court challenge," he added

This is a reprint from southbergenite.com
 

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