New Jersey to Ban College Sports Bets Statewide

New Jersey, one of the states that plans to legalize internet betting in United States, now plans to ban wagering on statewide college games, but at the same time wants to give betting on all other college and pro matches a green light.

The NCAA, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League are challenging together what they call an unfair and hypocritical American gambling laws in US courts.

The major US sports leagues called the law hypocritical for prohibiting gambling on New Jersey college games, but allowing it on all other college and pro contests.

At the same time, $380 billion a year is wagered illegally on sporting events in the Garden State.

The sports leagues submitted a paper to a US district court saying:”Notwithstanding defendants’ insistence that the state’s gambling scheme will have no adverse effect on the sports organizations, the state has exempted the sporting events of its own college and university teams, as well as all collegiate sporting events held within New Jersey, from the very gambling that defendants now insist will cause no injury.”

The statement continued: “Nowhere in their brief do defendants attempt to explain why New Jersey has singled out its own teams and sporting events for protection from injuries that purportedly do not exist.”

New Jersey faces strong competition in land based gambling from other states, and American internet casino sites around the world. As a result, Atlantic City casino revenues went down. The state tries to improve the situation by allowing betting on New Jersey horseracing tracks and it considers commissioning

New Jersey governor Chris Christie promised that his state will proceed with its new sports betting law, despite the federal plans to allow it in only four US states.

“We intend to go forward. If someone wants to stop us, then let them try to stop us.”