[clevfan]

Legislature to take another look at legalizing sports betting

By DEREK HARPER Statehouse Bureau
ATLANTIC CITY
Published: Thursday, January 24, 2008

TRENTON - Bookmakers are giving the New York Giants 12 points in the Feb. 3 Super Bowl. Sound good?

Trenton lawmakers are once again considering legislation that would make it legal to slap down a fiver on the New Jersey team in Atlantic City casinos. But the Super Bowl will probably have a few more Roman numerals after it before this happens, if ever.

The state Assembly Tourism and Gaming Committee is scheduled to hear testimony at 1:30 p.m. today about a bill that would legalize New Jersey sports wagering. It's one of the top bills under discussion as lawmakers get down to business in their first day of committee meetings for the new legislative session.

"There's sports gambling going on right now in New Jersey," said bill sponsor and committee Chairman Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli, D-Cumberland, Salem, Gloucester. "And the state's not getting its cut."

Burzichelli said he anticipates opposition from sports leagues that fear gamblers could corrupt outcomes. But he said he does not see a downside to legalizing it and bringing it under the auspices of resort casinos.

"Our casinos have a world-class reputation for being well-run, and if this is done in the casinos this will be done in an environment that is safe and well-governed," Burzichelli said. "The question is if you choose to do this, shouldn't you do it legally instead of writing it down on a white sheet of paper and hoping it comes back?"
Sen. Jeff Van Drew D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, said he planned to sponsor the senate version of the bill in the Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation committee, chaired by Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic. He previously backed the bill when he was in the Assembly and chaired the Tourism and Gaming Committee.

Van Drew said the bill would call for a referendum on sports betting that he believes would pass. He anticipates the state would win the subsequent legal challenge.

But even with state legislative support, the New York Giants chances versus the undefeated New England Patriots may be a safer bet.

A 1993 federal law enabled sports wagering in Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon. Federal lawmakers gave New Jersey a chance to legalize sports betting, but the chance expired when state lawmakers failed to make a deadline, in part because of the opposition of then-Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, a former New York Knick.

Current legislators have supported state sports wagering. A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, has said he favors the move, if state lawmakers are serious. And when he ran for office in 2005, Gov. Jon S. Corzine said overturning the federal ban on sports wagering was part of his plans for the resort.

"Let's go hire special counsel; let's get this done," Burzichelli said.

Other bills sponsored by local legislators up for consideration starting today include:

n A bill sponsored by Van Drew to create the Real Property Revaluation Review Commission that would look to create a fairer property reassessment process.

n A measure requiring buyers in age-restricted developments to certify that the sale will not violate federal anti-discrimination laws, sponsored by Sen. Christopher J. Connors, R-Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic.

n A bill sponsored by Assemblymen Douglas Fisher and Burzichelli, D-Salem, Cumberland, Gloucester, to allow law enforcement to mail or fax car accident reports when requested, and when a crash kills or incapacitates a driver, cap the amount a company storing the car can charge at $100 for the first 72 hours.