Meadowlands Racetrack operator Jeff Gural has defended the State of New Jersey in a recent Fox News interview. Gural's interview has come after U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp opted to not dismiss the major United States sports leagues' lawsuit that claims that the implementation of legalized sports wagering in New Jersey would undermine the perception of the integrity of the matches.
As a report which appears on The Deming Headlight explains, the leagues have now positioned themselves to file suit against the state over the matter.
New Jersey is currently in the midst of aggressively revamping its betting offerings, and a push by the state to implement legalized wagering on major sporting events has been met with hostility from the respective associations ever since it was mentioned months ago. The state has said all along that it is willing to make against the virtually-nationwide ban on betting on professional sporting events (four states, including Nevada, are exempt from the ban).
"It is absurd for the professional sports leagues and the NCAA to claim that they will suffer injuries as a result of the legalization of sports betting in New Jersey," U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. was quoted as saying over the weekend.
"That these organizations claim that the sports they represent will somehow have their reputation impacted is naïve at best and assumes that illegal gambling is not currently occurring in lieu of legal sports betting," he added. "The fact is that the presence of illegal betting and the crime that goes with it has a far greater impact on the legitimacy of sports organization."
"I think the judge came to the conclusion that it (legalized sports wagering) would somehow harm the leagues," Gural said during the Fox News interview. "I don't think anyone thinks that it [the passage of legalized sports wagering would necessarily] mean it's 'fixed.' Right now everybody bets on these sport illegally, other than in Nevada. [It is estimated] that between $300 billion and $500 billion is bet illegally (per year) in the U.S."
Gural went on to say, "If you watch all of the NFL shows --- the pre-game shows --- they're all talking about the line (the betting line). They have injury reports which are mainly to the interest of those that are gamblers."