[The Actuary]

Hi Scotty,
Hope things are well.

Quotinq a guy from another board who I think has some good points.

Actually, sportsbetting in NJ has a better chance of happening than you think. When the Bradley Act of 1992 was passed, states with existing sportsbetting (in the form of sports-based lotteries) were grandfathered in. Delaware, Oregon, Nevada, and Montana. However, a second clause gave NJ one year to decide whether they wanted to legalize sportsbetting. However, NJ being Bill Bradley's home state, he had enough pressure on state legislators that NJ was not able to put the sportsbetting referendum on ballots for voters within the year timeframe. There is little doubt that if given the choice, voters in NJ would approve regulated sportsbetting for AC.

However, the US Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court clearly states that the Federal Government can pass no law which infringes on the rights of the State Government. Gambling has always been, and will probably always be, a state by state issue. No matter which way the make-up of the court leans, it's a pretty clear cut case that states set their own gambling laws.

This leaves the Bradley Act to be unconstitutional...unfortunately, in the past 13 yrs, nobody has challenged that. However, late last year, a move in the NJ legislature began which would challenge the constitutionality of the law and if successfully repealed, would pave the way for sportsbetting in NJ. Among pressures being felt in NJ to protect their gambling income are the aforementioned slots in PA and also rumors of sportsbetting being legalized in Delaware (one of the grandfathered states).

ComputrBob said it would be a long fight to challenge constitutionality...that's incorrect. NJ simply needs to pass a law allowing sportsbetting and the challenge is instantly escalated.

The major hurdles left to clear for NJ beyond the court fight is pressure from the NFL and NBA, both of whom believe sportsbetting is ruining their sports. The NBA threatened to pull the Nets out of NJ if they legalize sportsbetting...then Jay-Z bought the team and the Brooklyn Nets look like a reality. Next the NFL threatened similar against the Jets and Giants...however, since the Jets are most likely moving and neither team is called the NJ Jets or Giants...I don't think that bluff holds much weight.

I think the casinos believe it could happen as well, after all, Boyd made Joe Lupo the VP of Operations at the Borgata in AC. Lupo did a very good job of managing the Stardust sportsbook for a number of years.