Residents of New Jersey are split on whether the state should legalize sports betting inside the state. Bloomberg quotes the results of a Seton Hall Sports Poll where 44 percent of the 696 respondents were in favor of sports gambling with 47 percent against and 10 percent undecided. The director of the poll, Rick Gentile, thinks the reason for an increase in those opposed is due to “strong resistance by the sports leagues” and the next time a poll is released the numbers could easily go back the other way. Preparations are already underway at one racetrack to allow sports betting and New Jersey are more than ready to start handing out licences from Jan. 9. Whether they actually end up doing so is a subject that’s still up for debate.
Kentucky has renewed hope in the battle for legalized casino gambling as the departure of the Senate President David Williams could pave the way for a new bill. AP report that Williams’s departure means Governor Steve Beshear will work on a new bill in the coming weeks that will come in front of lawmakers when they convene in January. If they agree it will be put through a Kentucky resident ballot in 2014 when they will have the power to vote yay or nay to the measure. If it passes, which is by no means a certainty, it will end two decades of proposals on casino gambling being rejected.
Florida Senator Garrett Richter has reiterated for the umpteenth time that the state’s gambling industry study will last for a good couple of years. The News Service of Florida report that Richter will be taking a comprehensive look at the industry and it will be “a very deliberate process over the next couple of years”. He added: “I do not see the committee coming up with a knee-jerk response to gambling.” Ricjter’s comments come after Senate President Don Gaetz had already told everyone to forget about gaming in Florida in 2013 and anyone looking at the market is being advised to be patient.
