New Jersey sports betting one signature away from legalisation

Sports bettors in the state of New Jersey have their eyes on governor Phil Murphy on Friday afternoon. They are awaiting his signature on a popular bill that recently passed through that state’s legislature, one that supported the increased legalization of sports betting in the state.

The bill passed with emphatic support: New Jersey’s assembly passed it 73-0 while the Senate later approved it 37-0. It still requires the governor’s signature but that’s something that seems like nothing more than a formality based on the popular approval at previous steps.

The new bill promises to inject more life into the New Jersey economy, especially in a small city on New Jersey’s coast. Atlantic City, where Donald Trump has done a lot of business in the past, is well known for being a resort town on the east coast and it’s teeming with both hotel rooms and casinos.

Although Atlantic City itself is not a large city, as a vacation hotspot the nearby metropolises of Philadelphia, New York, and Newark all feed the area with tourists. Relaxed measures for gambling on sports promise to help Atlantic City gain a stronger foothold in the sports-betting industry.

The subject of the bill was well covered in American media on Thursday. For instance, Wayne Parry of NBC10 in Philadelphia wrote: “All eyes were on Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday, immediately after the state Assembly and Senate unanimously passed a bill to allow sports betting in New Jersey.”

But FiOS New Jersey retweeted one of their reporter’s tweets on Friday. It seemed that reporter Emily Girsch learned that Gov. Phil Murphy wasn’t actually ready to sign the bill.

It will be interesting to see what the hold up is if it does in fact last. However, the delay comes at a time where there is just a little bit of a lull in popular American sports. The NBA championship has been decided after the Golden State Warriors won their second-straight title today and the Washington Capitals were crowned NHL champions on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Major League Baseball pennant races won’t really heat up for a couple months and the NFL is in offseason.