New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called voters ‘dumb’ after the recent referendum rejecting casinos in North Jersey.
Christie supported the referendum because he believes competition from New York will absorb the north Jersey bettors market, saying: "New York's going to expand casino gaming into New York City, they're going to make all the money, and New Jersey's not. And it was a dumb move by the voters, but they did it."
Christie made the comment on WFAN’s Boomer and Carton sports radio show while on the phone to Mayor John Coffey of Oceanport, the New Jersey town where Monmouth Park Racetrack is located.
Coffey voiced support for a proposal in the state Assembly (A4255) that would allow New Jersey racetracks to create legal internet gaming cafes at the tracks where consumers could play online gambling games in a space leased by casinos.
Governor Christie was not optimistic about the legislation’s chances of passing, commenting: “It's not going to happen. We just put a referendum on to have casino gaming in other parts of the state and it lost with 80 percent of the vote.”
Christie’s administration has been attempting to legalise sports betting in New Jersey’s casinos and racetracks for years and is currently petitioning the US Supreme Court to hear the case.
The governor expects sports betting to be legal by the time he leaves office in 2018, stating: “I also think that we’ll have sports gambling in New Jersey in the next year. Before I leave office, I think we’ll have sports gambling in Monmouth Park.”
