TRENTON – Senator Jim Whelan, Chairman of the Senate Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee, made the following comments when asked about the Senate prospects for the sports wagering bill which passed today in the Assembly.
“I don’t have a problem moving the bill forward in the Senate by hearing it in committee. It’s something I’ve supported for Atlantic City for quite sometime. The big obstacle to making it a reality, though, is the federal ban on sports betting for New Jersey which won’t go away just by our passing a bill in the State House. I believe New Jersey voters would support having state-regulated sports betting in casinos, but I don’t want to create false hopes. To give sports betting real traction, the federal ban has to be lifted.”
The Senate counterpart to the Assembly Bill, A-1909, is S-143, sponsored jointly by Senators Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, and Senator Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Atlantic and Cumberland.