New Jersey Set to Allow Sports Betting in Defiance of Federal Law

New Jersey governor Chris Christie isn't afraid of ruffling a few feathers on Capitol Hill. 

According to the AP: "New Jersey will defy a federal ban and let people bet on the outcomes of football, basketball and other games this fall."

This is a classic states' rights case.

If Christie does indeed follow through with his initiative, he'll be going directly against the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act that allows only four states—Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana—to engage in legal gambling.

Christie and the state of New Jersey have been angling to make this move official for the last couple of years, according to the AP report, and now they finally have the pieces in place to make their move. That being said, they fully expect the federal government to challenge their case.

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We intend to go forward, Christie said. If someone wants to stop us, then let them try to stop us. We want to work with the casinos and horse racing industry to get it implemented. Am I expecting there may be legal action taken against us to try to prevent it? Yes. But I have every confidence we're going to be successful.

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States' rights issues have been going on since before the Civil War, so this is nothing new. Residents of the state of California have recently been involved in a few initiatives that have gone against federal law—most notably the approval of gay marriage and the legalization of medical marijuana.

Christie knows the value of gambling to the economy of his state. He and the lawmakers understand that people have been gambling illegally, and they'd much rather have that flow of cash run through their coffers. 

It's really the only logical move, especially in today's economy with the massive amount of government spending that has to be paid for, one way or another. 

Legalizing gambling in New Jersey is the right thing to do.

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