No, this isn't about March Madness. Sports betting has been a hot topic of debate over the last few months in my home state of New Jersey. The aftermath resulted in NCAA withdrawing 6 events the were originally played in New Jersey venues this year including a Div. 1 Women's basketball regional. This also removed the Prudential Center and IZOD Center from the list of NCAA potential event sites for future use. With a recent court decision going in the NCAA's favor. The NCAA reversed the ban — but the damage has already been done in form lost revenue the these events would brought.
For those who don't the history, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 allows for 4 states (Nevada, Montana, Oregon, & Delaware) to have some form of sports betting (sportsbook) or lotteries and had a provision clause for New Jersey to enter by January 1, 1993. The New Jersey Assembly failed to get a bill passed by the deadline and really didn't show much interest pursuing the matter over the last 20 years.
So why now? Overall the "why" has to with New Jersey's financial crisis and steady decline of (let's be honest... dying) the state's casino and horse racing industries. Allowing sportsbooks in Atlantic City casinos and or at race tracks like Monmouth and the Meadowlands certainly could breathe new life and create jobs on top of the revenue.
There's no guarantee however that New Jersey would have the same kind of success that Nevada has enjoyed for decades. In 2009 Delaware passed a law that allowed for betting on all sports. The NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and NCAA filed a lawsuit stating that the Delaware law violated federal law. The US Supreme Court ruled that the Delaware law only partially violated the federal law and when it was all said and done Delaware's sportsbooks could only bet on NFL games which in 2011 only netted the state a whooping 4.4 million dollars(That hardly seems worth it).
While New Jersey is trying to save 2 industries, they're possibly handicapping (no pun intended) others. While I don't see the NFL taking next year's Superbowl away it certainly could affect future considerations. The NCAA has made it perfectly clear that they aren't a fan and a prolonged ban on NCAA events for New Jersey venues would especially hurt the Prudential Center and the IZOD Center in long run as they compete with Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center for sporting events. In 2011 Newark made well over 15 million dollars because of March Madness alone that was a huge boost to local businesses. With the Nets now in Brooklyn, and shortened NHL season due to the lockout that's a lot of lost $$ on top of an estimated loss of 6 million dollars after being removed from the list of host sites for the 2014 & 2015 NCAA Men's basketball tournaments. New Jersey arenas cannot afford to lose that kind of money or ground.
It's estimated that 380 billion dollars is made yearly on illegal sports betting. With the economy the way it is right now most states (not just New Jersey) trying to find ways to bring in money that don't include raising taxes. Sports betting seems to be a option for a lot of state legislatures right now and have been watching to see how New Jersey fares in the courts. The NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and NCAA can't be short sided to see that much of the infrastructure they make their money from is comes from state and local governments footing the bills for the stadiums and arenas which teams play. Let's be honest they ain't fooling anyone with "fantasy sports" either and sooner later they are going to have to share their profits.
