Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey is being sued by major sports leagues after signing the law that legalized sports betting in the state. Four major professional leagues sued him including Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
These sports league filed an action against the Republican Governer in the US District Court in Trenton. Christie is being alleged with pursuing a course of action that will permit the casinos and race tracks to start the gambling operations on amateur and professional sports in as soon as ‘the next two months'.
The lawsuit read, “This is an action challenging New Jersey's plan to sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license and authorize gambling on amateur and professional sports, in clear and flagrant violation of federal law.” It further reads, “Gambling on amateur and professional sports threatens the integrity of those sports and is fundamentally at odds with the principle that the outcomes of collegiate and professional athletic contests must be determined solely on the basis of honest athletic competition.”
Back in May, Christie announced that the regulations that would authorize the operations of sports betting in the state will be introduced after the legislation has been signed. This is in direct opposition to the Federal Professional and Amateur Sports Promotion Act of 1992 which banned the activity of sports betting in all states excluding Delaware, Nevada, Montana and Oregon.
Three years ago, the state of Delaware failed in its attempts of offering more than parlay betting at their three racetrack casinos. This was after the same four professional leagues lodged a similar lawsuit against the state. However, Christie remains confident that New Jersey will prevail in overturning this ban imposed by the PASPA. He said so in an interview on Tuesday.
