New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has vetoed a bill to bypass a federal ban and permit sports wagering at Atlantic City casinos and the state’s racetracks.
The prohibition has been a thorn in the state’s side for more than a decade, although it was only in recent years, as Atlantic City gaming revenues have plummeted, that several attempts were launched in the courts to overturn it as either unconstitutional or unfair, none of them successful.
The ban applies to all but four states—Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon—where sports betting in various forms was legal at the time the ban was enacted in the early ’90s. New Jersey had an opportunity to be one of them but failed to legalize the industry in time.
The state’s latest legal challenge went down to defeat in June when the US Supreme Court declined to take up the case, which means the ban stands.
Both chambers of the state Legislature overwhelmingly passed the bill days after the Supreme Court’s ruling. But Mr Christie, who is considering a run for president, was not enthusiastic. “They said ‘No,’ so we have to move on,” he noted.
Acknowledging the state’s “spirited legal effort” to try to change the law, the governor said he was unwilling to go along with an attempt to bypass the court. “Ignoring federal law, rather than working to reform federal standards, is counter to our democratic traditions and inconsistent with the constitutional values I have sworn to defend and protect,” he wrote in his veto message.
He did add, however, that he was open to other approaches for allowing sports wagers that would comply with federal law.
Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, a sponsor of the legislation, said the governor’s veto was disappointing.
“The legislation would have been a much-needed shot in the arm for Atlantic City and our racetracks, in particular,” he said. “This was a viable opportunity to increase revenue and help rejuvenate New Jersey’s casino industry, and we didn’t take it.”
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