Pallone Statement on NBA Commissioner’s Call to Legalize and Regulate Sports Betting

Washington, DC — Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) released the following statement today in response to a New York Times op-ed written by Adam Silver, Commissioner of the National Basketball Association, in which he calls for a federal solution to allow states to authorize betting on professional sports:

“I agree with Commissioner Silver that it is time to bring sports wagering out of the shadows and under controlled regulation. The citizens of New Jersey have spoken loud and clear—they want the opportunity to share in the profits of professional sports betting. And this should be done in a legal way that’s regulated by the government, rather than the status quo which allows it to be run by criminal enterprises. Legalized sports betting at New Jersey’s racetracks and in Atlantic City will be good for tourism and local businesses and will bring much needed tax revenue to our state.

“Silver’s comments represent one sports league finally coming to the realization that sports betting ought to be legal and occur in a regulated environment. While I believe the recent actions New Jersey has taken are legal, I agree with Silver that federal law must be changed so that individual states can actively regulate sports betting on their own.

“I have worked hard in Congress to change federal sports betting law, and I will continue to fight to do so. States like New Jersey should be able to do what is best for them.”

Pallone Reacts to NCAA and Professional Sports Leagues’ Lawsuit to Block Sports Betting in New Jersey

LONG BRANCH, NJ—Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) released the following statement regarding a lawsuit filed by the National College Athletics Association (NCAA), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Football League (NFL) to prevent the State of New Jersey from moving forward with allowing sports betting. Currently, only Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana have some type of exemption from the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a federal law prohibiting sports betting. Congressman Pallone is the author of the New Jersey Betting and Equal Treatment Act of 2012 (NJ BET Act), H.R. 3081, which amends the current law to exclude the State of New Jersey from the prohibition on professional sports gambling.

Congressman Pallone is also a co-sponsor of fellow New Jersey Congressman, Frank LoBiondo’s bill the Sports Gaming Opportunity Act of 2012, H.R. 3797, which would also take steps to bring sports betting to New Jersey:

“I am outraged by the lawsuit filed today by the NCAA and four professional sports leagues to prevent New Jersey from allowing legal sports betting in our state. The suit is disappointing and points to a naïve and unrealistic notion that prohibiting New Jersey from allowing sports betting will somehow reduce or prevent gambling on professional and college sports.

“It is widely known that sports betting in the Unites States is currently occurring illegally and offshore and is frequently run by major criminal enterprises. Each year this illegal sports betting represents billions of dollars. By engaging in this lawsuit, the NCAA, MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL are in effect condoning and encouraging the continued criminal activity associated with sports gambling, an activity for which state and federal law enforcement officials are forced to dedicate countless man hours and resources to pursue.

“My bill making sports betting legal in New Jersey would not only help to stem the criminal activity associated with sports gambling, it would also pump much needed revenue into to our state by taking the gambling out of the shadows and regulating it. It has become clear that the states need to step in and regulate sports betting.

“I look forward to continuing to work with my colleague, Congressman LoBiondo to push for both of our bills and to fight to allow New Jersey to bring critical revenues back into the state and out of the hands of criminals.”

Be Like Dirk

From FunnyorDie.com

Everyone playing basketball nowadays knows that if you want to be the best you have to be like Dirk Nowitzki. No one wants to Be Like Mike, everyone wants to Be Like Dirk.

Be Like Dirk - watch more funny videos

My congratulations to Dirk Nowitzki and the rest of the Dallas Maverick winning the NBA Championship this Sunday.

Obama Attends Washington Wizards Basketball Game

Everyone knows that President Obama is a huge basketball fan, so it was kind of nice to see him trying to maintain some sort of sanity in his life by making an unannounced appearance at a Washington Wizards game last night. I am sure however that some of his critics would think otherwise. 

The President, dressed in his casual best and escorted by just a few Secret Service men, shocked and surprised the crowd by taking his seat amongst them to watch his hometown Chicago Bull take on the Wizards.

 

The Wizards sent the President back to the White House a little disappointed, they beat the Bulls 113-90.