LESNIAK TESTIMONY TO NCSL ON FEDERAL SPORTS BETTING BAN

NEW ORLEANS – At the Budget and Revenue Committee meeting held today as part of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) 2008 Legislative Summit, State Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, one of the chief advocates for allowing professional sports betting as a revenue source in New Jersey, issued the following testimony to encourage other states to challenge the federal sports betting ban which prohibits every State except Nevada, Delaware and Oregon from allowing legalized sports betting within their borders:

“In 1992, Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) despite opposition from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Through this legislative measure, Congress stripped individual states of their ability to conduct betting on professional and amateur sports.

PREVIEW - SENATE COMMITTEES TO CONSIDER RENEWABLE ENERGY, SPORTS BETTING BILLS MONDAY

On Monday, May 19, Senate committees are scheduled to meet to consider a variety of measures to support renewable energy, and discuss legislation to allow sports betting in New Jersey.

At 1:00 PM in Committee Room 1 in the Statehouse Annex, the Senate Economic Growth Committee will hear a pair of bills, sponsored by Senator Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, to allow wind turbine and solar energy facilities to be located in industrial zones or on preserved farms. According to the bill sponsor, the measures, S-1299 and S-1538, are intended to ensure that the entire State has access to renewable energy generation, and not just areas along the shore which have taken advantage of off-shore turbines.

TRENTON – Senator Jim Whelan, Chairman of the Senate Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee, made the following comments when asked about the Senate prospects for the sports wagering bill which passed today in the Assembly.

GREENWALD: ATLANTIC CITY AGAIN LEFT OUT
OF SUPER BOWL PARTY
Las Vegas Celebrates Giants' Win with Sold-Out Hotels, Expected $100 Million in Wagers

(VOORHEES) - Assemblyman Louis Greenwald today said Las Vegas' expected windfall from this past weekend's influx of football fans underscores why New Jersey should legalize professional sports gaming so Atlantic City can host its own Super Bowl party.

VAN DREW: A.C. SPORTS-BOOK ARRESTS
STRENGTHEN CASE FOR LEGAL SPORTS BETTING

(TRENTON) - The break-up this week of a multi-million-dollar illegal sports-betting ring operated out of one of Atlantic City's casinos strengthens the case for authorizing sports betting at the city's gaming halls, says Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew.