N.J. lawmakers tackle NFL’s opposition to betting

ATLANTIC CITY - New Jersey lawmakers called the National Football League hypocritical Monday for opposing legalized sports betting while doing business with TV networks that openly discuss betting lines and point spreads on NFL games.

The Legislature is pushing for a public vote in November to amend the New Jersey Constitution to allow sports betting at Atlantic City's 11 casinos, at horse race tracks and on the Internet.

At a public hearing Monday, NFL spokesman Timothy McDonough reiterated the league's long-standing opposition to legalized betting on its games. He said gambling on NFL games could undermine their integrity in fans' eyes.

"Mistakes are made in the course of the game, either by the ref or by players," he said. "But when mistakes are made, to a less rational person who is placing a bet, a mistake becomes a fix."

Pro football was never designed to be bet on, McDonough said, adding that legalizing such gambling would be a bad message "to send to the young people of this country."

That prompted harsh criticism from lawmakers including state Sen. Jim Whelan (D., Atlantic), a former Atlantic City mayor.

"The league has a contractual relationship with broadcast networks, and they go on and talk about the line, will the Eagles cover the spread against the Giants?" Whelan said. "There's a level of hypocrisy that the NFL and other professional leagues bring."

Joseph Brennan, chief executive of the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, an Internet gambling association, also accused the NFL of hypocrisy.

"It's everywhere. It's in full view," he said of the league's ties to entities that publicize and discuss betting lines.

"Just open the sports section today. Look on ESPN.com: What's the spread? It's 7 for Duke over Butler," he said, referring to Monday night's NCAA men's basketball championship game.

The league's policy is that such talk is not supposed to air, McDonough said, but he added that First Amendment concerns barred the league from dictating what broadcast personalities can or can't say.

"Sports in general has tainted themselves a little bit," added Sen. Robert W. Singer (R., Ocean), citing baseball's steroid scandal and a series of high-profile arrests of NFL players on criminal charges. "I don't think sports betting taints anything."

Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D., Union), who co-sponsored the bill to put the question before voters this fall, was blunt in his response to McDonough.

"Gambling and the NFL - perfect together," he said, adapting the state's old tourism slogan.

Before such betting can be legalized in the state, a federal ban must be overturned or repealed. New Jersey is suing the federal government to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. The 1992 law restricts sports betting to four states that met a deadline to sign up for it: Nevada, where Las Vegas sports books determine the odds for sporting events across the country; Delaware; Montana; and Oregon.

The law carved out an exemption for New Jersey, giving it a chance to decide if it wanted sports betting. The state failed to do so, and the exemption window closed.

The lawsuit argues that the U.S. law is unconstitutional because it treats four states differently from the 46 others.

A consultant hired by Brennan's Internet betting association estimated that sports betting could be a $10 billion-a-year industry in New Jersey by 2011 if it were permitted in casinos, at racetracks, online and by phone. That could generate nearly $100 million a year in tax revenue for the state, he said.

The bill to authorize a November referendum has cleared a Senate committee. It awaits action in both chambers of the Legislature. It would prohibit bets on college games in New Jersey and games anywhere that involve a New Jersey team.

Many lawmakers referred to Monday night's NCAA championship game and the millions of dollars it is generating for Las Vegas casinos.

"Try to get a room in Vegas tonight," Lesniak said. "Here in Atlantic City, you can have your pick of rooms in any casino."