The story quotes State Senator Steve Lesniak, " 'There are billions of dollars of gambling money that we're leaving on the table," said Lesniak, who represents a district in northern New Jersey, near where the Meadowlands racetrack wants to offer slot machines to attract new gamblers. That's something Atlantic City has vowed never to let happen.' "
Senator Lesniak has already sued the federal government over the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which effectively bans sports betting in all but four states: Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Delaware. He is challenging PASPA based on constitutional grounds.
In recent years, other states have expanded their gambling offerings, pulling market share from Atlantic City. Senator Lesniak is quoted, " 'Atlantic City is dying,' Lesniak said. 'The Meadowlands is dying. Our racetracks are dying. We have time to get this right and craft a constitutional amendment that will maximize revenues for the state and for our tourist destinations.' " I think he is correct. If New Jersey doesn't do something, Atlantic City gaming will become a shell of what it once was.Other posts on this topic can be viewed here and here.
1 comment:
In a nutshell, PASPA made a blanket ban of sports betting in the USA. However, there were a few states that had sports betting in the past or were currently allowing sports betting. Those states were Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Delaware.
Those states were given special status such that they could continue to offer sports betting of the forms they were offering, or had offered in the past. One state, New Jersey, had a year to pass a law to allow sports betting and they would have been allowed this same special status. The did not meet the deadline, and therefore were covered by the sports betting ban.
Hope this helps!
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