New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he’s ready to move forward with adding sports betting at Atlantic City casinos and state racetracks.
The Republican governor said Thursday that sports gambling would “further enhance the experience of people in Atlantic City,” the
Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
New Jersey voters approved a ballot referendum last November to allow betting on NFL and college games. Christie signed it into law last January, but nothing has happened since.
According to the Inquirer, Democrats have complained that Christie was delaying final regulations on betting out of concerns that opening up sports and Internet gambling venues in the state would alienate key Republican supporters, including likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Christie, in a speech Thursday in Atlantic City, said he wants to put the new betting rules into effect by this fall, despite the fact that federal law now limits sports betting to only Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon.
Even though New Jersey voters and the governor have signed off on it, the state could face multiple lawsuits under the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act from both the Justice Department and professional sports leagues.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.