Congressman Renews Push For NJ Sports BettingThe Success Of Daily Fantasy Sports Could Help Garden State |
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A U.S. Congressman from New Jersey is looking to use the fledgling DFS industry as a way to continue the push for sports books at casinos in Atlantic City.
According to the Associated Press, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) talked about the issue in New York on Monday as part of a panel hosted by the International Centre for Sport Security, saying that fantasy sports have allowed the pro sports leagues to “carve out a way…to do sports betting or gambling where they are the only ones that make any money.”
“That is why they are for the fantasy sports, because they are making the money. They don’t want the state [of New Jersey] to make the money,” Pallone added.
The leagues have maintained that the spread of traditional sports betting could be harmful to the integrity of their games, especially if it’s a state-by-state patchwork.
Pallone’s state is stuck in a years-long fight to get sports books in Atlantic City. Nevada, which is one of only a few states allowed to have sports betting, saw an all-time high $3.9 billion in wagers on sports last year. The Silver State is the only place in the country with sports books.
The Garden State saw a federal appeals court rule against it last month, but it will continue the battle. The state has already had the U.S. Supreme Court decline to consider the case.
The major sports leagues sued New Jersey a few years ago over its sport betting plans, using a 1992 law that prohibited sports betting everywhere but in the states that were grandfathered in.
Last week, Pallone asked the House Energy and Commerce Committee to hold a hearing on fantasy sports. A hearing hasn’t been scheduled yet. The DFS industry is expected to grow to $2.5 billion over the next four years, but that’s just a small fraction of the overall fantasy sports market in the country. An estimated 57 million people play fantasy sports each year in North America.
Fantasy sports are legal under federal law, and even though DFS is a relatively new version of the games, the DFS operators have continually expressed confidence that there is no concern about the legality of the product. Federal law pertaining to online gambling has a carve-out for fantasy sports.
The major sports leagues are among the high-profile investors in DFS startups with billion-dollar valuations. The likes of Disney, Comcast and Google have also invested in DFS sites.
Though the leagues are against sports betting in New Jersey, NBA commissioner Adam Silver last year indicated that he supports legalizing and regulating sports betting at the federal level.
That’s what Pallone is pushing.
Pallone and another U.S. lawmaker proposed legislation a few years ago, but it has been stuck in committee, according to the report. At the state level, New Jersey has legalized sports betting. The lawsuit from the leagues has put implementation on hold indefinitely.
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