Page 5 - ARUBA TODAY

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U.S. NEWS Saturday 5 January 2019
Ex-New Jersey gov to states:

Fight U.S. control of sports bets

By WAYNE PARRY nue they have been seek- state by state," Democratic
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — For- ing, so-called "integrity Indiana state Rep. Justin
mer New Jersey Gov. Chris fees," but does not prohibit Moed said. "Multinational
Christie wants lawmakers them, either. corporations adjust to state
across the country to resist "We're going to reward the regulation, and so can the
a bill that would give the people who fought us for sports leagues."
federal government con- seven years with fees that One Republican state sen-
trol over regulating sports are going to diminish your ator from Louisiana who
betting. margins?" Christie asked supported federal regula-
The Republican said Friday the lawmakers. "They don't tion changed his mind after
at a conference of legisla- need it, and given their hearing Christie's speech.
tors that states have proven conduct over the last sev- "I can see a tremendous
they can handle the job. en years, they don't de- money grab from the feds
Christie began a court bat- serve it." on this," said Sen. Ronnie
tle against the major pro The leagues support fed- Johns.
and college sports leagues eral regulation of sports Christie said the sports
that ended with the U.S. Su- betting, saying it would be leagues need to change
preme Court clearing the more efficient to have one their approach toward
way for all states to choose set of rules than 50 individ- gambling.
whether or not to offer ual ones. "The leagues should under-
sports gambling. Dan Spillane, Senior Vice stand this better than any-
Speaking Friday in New President of the National body: When you lose, you In this Nov. 29, 2017, file photo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Orleans at the National Basketball Association, lose," he said. "That 'L' is up speaks during a news conference in Newark, N.J.
Council of Legislators from said part of the sports bet- there on the board."q Associated Press
Gaming States confer- ting industry is built on the
ence, Christie also urged league's costly product:
lawmakers to resist grant- basketball games.
ing the leagues "integrity "We bear the brunt of the
fees," which are essentially risk if things go sideways,"
a slice of the action on he said. "I know there are
sports bets, and said they some bad feelings in some
should refuse demands to quarters about the litiga-
use official league data in tion."
sports betting. Regarding integrity fees,
To do so would be to "re- Spillane said, "We don't
ward bad behavior" by the think this is an unreasonable
leagues, Christie said, refer- ask, or something that's go-
ring to their lengthy oppo- ing to cripple the industry."
sition of New Jersey's court Spokesmen for the profes-
case seeking the right to of- sional football, baseball,
fer legal sports betting. and hockey leagues did
Seven states currently offer not immediately respond
sports gambling, and those to requests for comment
who track the industry ex- following Christie's speech.
pect a total of 30 states to In interviews with The Asso-
consider legislation to per- ciated Press before Chris-
mit it this year. tie spoke, lawmakers from
"We do not need a federal Ohio, Iowa, and Indiana
solution to this problem," all opposed federal regula-
Christie said. "States have tion of sports betting, say-
been regulating gambling ing they are better suited
for decades without inci- to regulate it in their own
dent." backyards.
He referred to a bill intro- "We know what we have
duced last month by Dem- in our states and what we
ocratic U.S. Sen Charles can do," said Ohio Re-
Schumer of New York and publican state Sen. Wil-
retiring Republican Sen. Or- liam Coley II, chairman of
rin Hatch of Utah that would the state legislators' group.
give the federal govern- "Legislators in Utah know
ment control of regulating what people in Utah want,
sports betting as "a solution lawmakers in New Jersey
in search of a problem." know what works best for
That bill would have the them. We don't want fed-
U.S. Justice Department eral oversight."
set minimum standards for "Sports betting is new and
states to offer sports bet- we need to evaluate it
ting. It does not explicitly and make the right adjust-
provide the sports leagues ments. We already regu-
the cut of gambling reve- late all types of industries