NJ Senator Lesniak Continues Push for Sports-Betting
For the better part of the past five years New Jersey has been embroiled in a fight against a bevy of professional and amateur sports leagues to bring legal sports-betting to the state.
The effort to expand New Jersey’s gambling options was initiated by one of the staunchest pro-gaming lawmakers you’ll find anywhere in the United States, New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak.
Lesniak spearheaded the passage of a bill back in 2011 that would have brought legal sports-betting to the Garden State, and the measure passed a statewide referendum.
However, the new law came under fire from sports leagues and was challenged in court as a violation of (the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The NCAA and professional leagues have won their case every step of the way, which led to the steps of the Supreme Court.
Interestingly, New Jersey was eligible for an exemption to PASPA when the law was passed back in 1992, but the state legislature at the time allowed their window to close, costing New Jersey an opportunity they now so desperately want.
The recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to not hear the appeal filed by New Jersey seemed to be New Jersey’s last chance, but one lawmaker wasn’t ready to give up so easily, the architect and staunchest supporter of sports-betting, Senator Lesniak.
Lesniak’s New Bill
The SCOTUS decision led to a hastily crafted bill by Lesniak that would bypass the current law preventing New Jersey from adopting legal sports-betting (PASPA) by repealing the state laws banning sports-betting, and letting private companies handle the wagers with no influence or fealty to the state (PASPA disallows states from offering sports-betting).
Under Lesniak’s proposal, sports-betting in the state would not fall under PASPA laws as it would not be a state-run business. Lesniak even had the state’s race tracks signed on to the idea and willing to challenge the federal law.
Unfortunately, the Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, wasn’t ready to issue this type of challenge, and the former federal prosecutor essentially said “the law is the law” after executing his veto power.
So, despite passing by huge margins in both houses the bill was met with Governor Chris Christie’s veto pen.
The veto was seen as the coup de grace for sports-betting in New Jersey, but Senator Lesniak still sees some light at the end of the tunnel. He has hinted at either an override of the governor’s veto (which would be the first override since Christie took office) or the longer term strategy of waiting until a new governor is in place.
Why An Override Is Unlikely
Even though the bill passed in the Senate by a 38-1 margin and in the Assembly by a 63-6-2 margin, many of the Republican supporters are unlikely to break ranks and vote to overturn Chris Christie’s veto; something that has never happened during Christie’s run as governor.
According to Lesniak, it will likely come down to two Monmouth republican Senators, whose constituents would benefit from the bill as one of the proposed companies that would expand into sport-betting is the Monmouth Race Track. Lesniak is hoping the two senators will see enough value in the measure to overcome the partisan politics of a governor’s veto.
“I believe if we get Sens. Kyrillos and Beck, we will get an override in both houses,” Lesniak told the Press of Atlantic City.
However, Senate President Stephen Sweeney has not scheduled a vote to override the veto as of this time, so the point may be a moot one.
Lesniak’s History With Gaming
Senator Raymond Lesniak is one of the friendliest lawmakers in New Jersey when it comes to issues of gaming. If ever you needed a lawmaker to fight for a bill to expand gaming, Senator Raymond Lesniak is your guy.
Lesniak has not only championed New Jersey’s attempts at legalizing sports-betting (something he has been working on since 2009) but he was also the sponsor of New Jersey’s now implemented online gambling law which brought online poker and online casinos to the Garden State.
Furthermore, he has advocated for expanded casino gaming in the state, calling for licenses to be issued outside of Atlantic City.
