New Jersey sports gambling efforts rooted in lost revenue
By: Tom MacDonald
Two New Jersey State Senators have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a law that bans sports gambling in all but a few states. It could be costing the Garden State millions every year.
By: Tom MacDonald
tmacdonald@whyy.org
Two New Jersey State Senators have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a law that bans sports gambling in all but a few states. It could be costing the Garden State millions every year.
Caption: New Jersey State Senator Jeff Van Drew
Transcript:
State Senator Jeff Van Drew of Cape May County says he joined with fellow Senator Raymond Lesniak in filing the federal suit to overturn the federal ban on sports wagering because it could mean tapping into 10 billion dollars in taxable gambling.
Van Drew: “Illegal sports betting exists. Illegal sports betting can be found throughout the entire United States, indeed the whole country and the world, and frankly it has been a real boon for organized crime. So I think from a moral social aspect it is the right thing to do to make sure that sports book is appropriate that it’s clean, that it’s reliable.”
If the court overturns the law, it could mean $100 million a year in new revenue for the state. If the ban on sports gambling was lifted it would still need to be approved in a state referendum.
Listen:
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