TRENTON — With his veto pen, Gov. Chris Christie all but ended New Jersey’s efforts to institute sports betting at its casinos and race tracks.
Christie's office announced today that he nixed a bill (S2250) that would have allowed New Jersey to circumvent the 1992 federal law that bans sports betting in most states, after New Jersey's challenges to the law in court failed.
In doing so, Christie called federal law "sacrosanct," while the sponsor of the bill, state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, said Christie “stuck a dagger in the heart of Atlantic City and our ailing horse racing industry.”
The bill — which passed the state Senate and Assembly by wide bipartisan margins — would have allowed private companies to open up wagering operations in Atlantic City casinos and the state’s harness racing tracks.
Lesniak (D-Union) said the U.S. Justice Department wrote in its legal briefs that the federal law does not "obligate New Jersey to leave in place the state-law prohibitions against sports gambling that it had chosen to adopt prior" to the law's adoption. So the measure would have repealed old state laws barring sports betting in New Jersey and allowed private companies to open up wagering operations that would not require state regulation.
Christie said he still favors sports betting, but that the state needs to "determine if a different approach towards sports wagering would comply with federal law."
“While I do not agree with the Circuit Court’s decision, I do believe that the rule of law is sacrosanct, binding on all Americans,” he wrote. “That duty adheres with special solemnity to those elected officials privileged to swear and oath to uphold the laws in our nation.”
Christie called ignoring federal law “counter to our democratic traditions and inconsistent with the Constitutional values I have sworn to defend and protect.”
New Jersey voters already approved a constitutional amendment to make way for sports betting in 2011. But all that hinged on winning the federal court battle.
Sports betting was seen as a way to help revive New Jersey’s struggling Atlantic City casinos and race tracks, and provide millions of new revenue to state coffers.
Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex), another sponsor of the bill, said the state is "running out of options and ways to increase revenue."
"The legislation would have been a much needed shot in the arm for Atlantic City and our racetracks, in particular," Caputo said.
Christie did sign two minor bills that affect Atlantic City. One (S185) would allow equipment used in connection with internet gaming at casinos to be used outside of casinos in Atlantic City facilities that are "secure, inaccessible to the public, and specifically designed to house that equipment." The other (S1498) would no longer exempt beach bars located in the city's tourism district from state noise control standards.
Christie's veto today struck a markedly different tone than he did in 2012, when he said "if someone wants to stop us, then let them try to stop us,".
“He’s giving up,” Lesniak said. “And that’s sad, because he’s giving up a great opportunity for New Jersey to have the benefits from sports betting that Las Vegas has, and that are currently enjoyed by organized crime.”
Lesniak said he’ll look into seeking an override of Christie's veto and will pursue it if he can get a handful of Republicans on board.
But if history is a guide, that's an unlikely prospect. Democrats have never succeeded in overriding one of Christie’s vetoes.
“Either we’re going to have to try to override him or wait until we get another governor,” Lesniak said.
Caputo said he thinks an override of this veto could stand a better chance than previous attempts, since it's important to many Republican lawmakers' districts.
"I think southern Democrats and Republicans would be hard-pressed not to vote for this," he said.
Star-Ledger staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report