New Jersey Sports Betting Now Targeted for December: George W. Bush attorney on Board
A move to legalize sports betting in New Jersey for the fall will likely be delayed until December the earliest, mainly a result of the anticipated lengthy licensing process.
Joe Brennan, Jr. of the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association tells Gambling911.com that the state will move right along with the legalization process despite a lawsuit filed against the four professional sports teams and the NCAA to try and prevent this from happening.
But John Brennan of NorthJersey.com (no relation to Joe) doesn’t anticipate anyone placing bets on the regular NFL and College Football games from the Garden State this fall.
From NorthJersey.com:
No New Jersey racetracks or casinos are expected to receive a license to offer sports betting within the next 120 days, state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa has asserted in a series of letters this month to a federal judge.
The state “currently does not anticipate awarding any licenses before December 1, 2012, at the very earliest,” Chiesa first wrote in a filing to U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Newark on Aug. 17. That letter was sent 10 days after Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA and NHL joined the NCAA in the lawsuit.
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No surprise here. The state of Nevada last fall made it legal for online poker sites to operate from within its borders but only this past week finalized approval for two licensees, neither of which are ready to be up and running in the coming month(s) for “real money” play.
The credit card issuing banks continue to prohibit transactions for online gambling as part of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA). That prohibition features “carve outs” for so-called “good” online gambling such as state lotteries, horse racing and fantasy sports leagues, however, the financial institutions have taken the stance that they are not in a position to determine “good” from “bad”, hence, all online gambling falls under the category of “bad” for the time being, at least where the banks are concerned.
The great news for New Jersey in the sports betting front is that attorney Theodore Olson is slated to join Governor Chris Christie's legal team to defend against the National Football League, et al. Olson has previously represented the likes of former US President George W. Bush in the contested 2000 presidential election.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
