Stakeholders continue to seek ways to legalize sports betting to secure the future of horseracing in the state, despite a gubernatorial veto and significant pushback from professional sports leagues.
State Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth) is leading a group that will meet with representatives of Gov. Chris Christie, who recently vetoed the latest bill attempting to legalize sports wagering at racetracks and casinos.
“The governor’s office expressed concerns over the way the bill was written, and it was not so much that they disagreed with the concept of allowing sports betting,” she said.
Beck said she would meet with representatives of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association to discuss the issue and strategize ways the failed legislation could be redrawn to gain Christie’s approval.
“I think it is going to shed some light on policy issues that maybe we have not recognized in the original drafting of the bill,” she said in an Aug. 27 interview.
The state has been attempting to legalize sports betting — which could funnel billions into state coffers and secure the future of venues like Monmouth Park — since 2011, after voters overwhelming supported a nonbinding referendum to legalize the practice.
In a test of the federal ban on sports betting, Christie signed a bill in 2012 to legalize sports betting at racetracks and casinos. However, the four major professional sports leagues — NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball — and the NCAA filed suit to block the law. The state petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to lift the ban, but the justices declined.
A second bill was overwhelmingly passed in both the state Senate and Assembly in June, but Christie vetoed the bill in July.
Despite the veto, Beck said the $3 million the Christie administration has spent to fight the federal ban in court proves that he still supports sports betting.
“They’ve been out there advocating for it, and what they said to me was this bill came up very quickly. And by the time we did our due diligence, it was already on our desk,” she said.
Sports wagering, which is currently legal in four states despite the 1992 federal ban, is seen as a potentially significant source of revenue that would strengthen the horseracing industry while helping to offset tax increases.
Las Vegas gaming experts estimate the handle on legalized sports betting would be between $8 billion and $10 billion yearly, with Monmouth Park representing approximately 10 percent of the market share, according to Dennis Drazin, consultant to the horsemen’s association.
While Beck is leading one charge, Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), sponsor of the most recent bill, has scheduled a Sept. 22 vote to override the governor’s veto. “That is going to be the vote in the Senate, and it is really critical to the horseracing industry in Monmouth and Ocean counties,” Lesniak said.
“The horseracing industry in New Jersey is a $1 billion industry, and just saving that industry — and then, on top of it, the revenues that would be generated by sports betting itself — is huge.”
Lesniak said the override is especially important since Monmouth Park has already constructed the William Hill Sports Bar, which could double as a betting parlor.
He said he has the support of Senate Democrats, as well as Beck and Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), which he said is crucial to the success of the override.
However, Beck said last week that Lesniak’s motivation is politically based, and she is waiting for the state meeting before deciding how to vote on the override.
Drazin also said he would attend the meeting with Beck to seek a legislative solution.
“We are awaiting conversations with the governor’s counsel to see if there is something that could be done to satisfy the governor,” he said. “My first preference would be if we could meet with the governor’s office and come up with some language that the governor could support.”
The Oceanport Borough Council supports Lesniak’s override, and Councilman Joseph Irace said the council would pass a resolution of support at the next meeting.
While he is confident that his fellow legislators will vote in favor of the override, Lesniak said he also expects the professional leagues and the NCAA to bring the matter to court.
“I’m sure they will try [to reverse the override] in court. They will be in state court, and we don’t expect them to be successful,” he said.
“It wouldn’t come from the federal government, because we are doing what they said we can do. It will come from the leagues.”
Before failing with the Supreme Court, New Jersey won a minor victory when the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in its favor, shaping Lesniak’s bill.
Lesniak has stated in radio interviews that he wants to make the first wager on the Giants when they open this year’s NFL season against the Lions on Sept. 7. Though that is no longer possible, he will still be there to place the first bet.
“I don’t know who I will be betting on. We will have to see how the Giants are doing in the interim, but Dennis Drazin has allowed me to place the first bet,” he said.
“It will be my honor because of how many jobs we will be saving and how important it is to the economy.”
Irace joked that he wants to be second in line to make a sports wager.
“I told him I’d be the second one, so if they slap the handcuffs on him, I’d walk away,” he said.