Friday’s veto by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of the state’s latest sports betting legislation may dampen the mood at a sports betting legalization discussion in Boston this weekend. The event, put on by the American Bar Association and titled Game Changer: The States’ Big Gamble on Legalized Sports Betting, features panelists like Ted Olson (pictured), the high-voltage attorney who led New Jersey’s legal quest to overturn the 1992 federal PASPA sports betting prohibition. Sadly, Christie’s veto has sucked much of the urgency out of the issues up for discussion.
Christie’s veto also ensures that the state will continue to witness proceedings like the guilty plea entered on Friday by an illegal sports betting operator. Williamstown resident Thomas Rand pled guilty to third-degree promoting gambling for his involvement in a live poker and online sports betting operation run out of a storefront in Runnemede.
The establishment in question bore a sign promoting the female-friendly Curves health club chain. In reality, the so-called Runnemede Social Club offered three live poker tables, from which Rand and partner Ryan Dion collected a rake. The club – which was open to members three nights a week – also offered sports betting via a password-protected online betting site, 365sportsbetting.com, from which Rand and Dion collected 10% of losing wagers. The club also featured couches from which sports bettors could observe the fates of their wagers on a big-screen TV.
An undercover state police detective gained entry to the club in December 2013 and opened up a wagering account with Rand. The detective put up $1k in cash and Rand allowed him a further $500 wagering credit. Rand gave the detective his bank account number, into which the detective was to transfer future betting losses. Police shut down the operation in March, laying charges against Rand, Dion and four other defendants.
On Friday, Superior Court Judge John T. Kelley sentenced Rand to 270 days in county jail. Dion pled guilty on July 18 and is looking at a year in prison. Two dealers and one cashier have also pled guilty while a sixth defendant (also a dealer) has been charged but not yet indicted. Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman issued a statement saying he and his kind would “continue to make every effort to remove gambling from the shadows of the black market underworld.” Thanks to Christie, Hoffman will have plenty more opportunities.
