A New Jersey bill “intended to bolster the state’s years-long legal case to allow sports betting at casinos and horse racetracks is on its way” to Gov. Chris Christie, according to Matt Friedman of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. The state Assembly voted 73-4 on Thursday to “pass a bill that would strike provisions from New Jersey’s law books that ban sports betting.” After federal courts struck down New Jersey’s voter-approved attempt to legalize sports betting and the U.S. Supreme Court “refused to hear the state’s appeal, Acting Attorney General John Hoffman issued authorities a directive not to prosecute it at casinos and horse racetracks.” Christie “has not said whether he supports the legislation” (NJ.com, 10/16). ESPN.com’s David Purdum wrote the “future of American sports betting is again in the hands” of Christie. The bill, which also “breezed through the Senate this week, partially repeals the state's prohibitions on sports betting, paving the way for casinos and racetracks to begin taking wagers upon the governor's approval.” He “has 45 days to act.” There are “still major obstacles for the state, most notably an unrelenting legal challenge from the NCAA as well as the NFL and other professional sports leagues.” A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 21 in the U.S. District Court in Trenton to “address Christie's motion for clarification from Judge Michael Shipp's injunction against the state” (ESPN.com, 10/16).
