I love to make a bet on football. There is something about having a wager on the big game that brings the action to life. Gamblers are some of the most competitive people in the world, and most don’t even know it. According to an Inc.com article it is estimated to be about $400 Billion wagered illegally on sports each year. It’s a hard number to quantify, and I don’t know many big bookies who are glad to share names and numbers. So we’ll use this as a target number. – Now, casinos had all the trouble in the world expanding their presence outside of Nevada. Horse racing has a license for pari-mutuel gambling, a long standing history of being regulated, taxed, and are known for wagering. I don’t know many who go for the spaghetti, but I’m sure they’re out there somewhere. – Long story short. Have legalized, taxed, regulated, sports gambling in a place that was the original legal place to make a wager. For the sake of argument, we’ll have them pay the track it is housed 5% for expansion and investment purpose of keeping racing alive. – I don’t see many problems with this crazy idea, and if you look at the great state of New Jersey. There are a few folks who feel the same way.

I was reading the Blood horse.com and it detailed the journey of trying to legalize sports wagering in the state.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled, by a 2-1 vote, that New Jersey’s 2014 law authorizing sports betting at casinos and racetracks is illegal. Judges Marjorie Rendell, Maryanne Trump Barry, and Julio Fuentes were on the panel. Fuentes dissented. The court in 2014 ruled that the New Jersey law violates the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which prohibits states for authorizing sports betting. Only four states—Delaware, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon—are permitted to offer sports betting, and only Nevada can offer full sports wagering.

William Hill, an international betting company, partnered with Monmouth in 2012 to turn a room at the track into a sports book. That was the year the New Jersey legislature passed the sport betting law. “The William Hill Room has been ready for operation for more than a year now,” said Joe Asher, president of William Hill US. “It’s pretty clear to me that this matter is far from over. I remain convinced that legal sports betting will come to New Jersey. It’s a matter of when, not if. “There’s a massive illegal sports betting market that exists, not only in New Jersey, but all across the country. The sooner that market comes out of the shadows and into the sunlight, the better off we will be.”

What’s the problem, and why are we not willing to take our head out of the sand ? – I know there is always going to be a portion of the people who will not be happy with the decision. Some wouldn’t be happy if they passed out free money.  They would have wanted more. – Think about improving the existing structures that have offered gambling for decades. – Most believe there is a drug problem in the nation, but refuse to offer a needle exchange to stem the tide of disease and death. But they still want the problem solved. – We have homeless on the streets and we want them cared for, but not at any additional cost. It is someone else’s problem. – There are so many analogies that could be used, and still we are at a stalemate. – I’m not trying to invent Las Vegas on every street corner, I want to keep it in the places that have always housed gambling and keep it regulated. – The monies that will be wagered anyway can be used to fund existing racing which is having trouble staying afloat with competition.

If a gaming giant like William Hill was involved in New Jersey, there must have some real upside to having legalized sports betting. – I know they stood to make mountains of money, but the creation of jobs, taxes, and investment in racing would have taken the burden off the same people who will be eventually taxed more. – If illegal betting would disappear due to this decision, I would have understood. But it will continue, and gamblers will always have their “man” to pick up the phone and dial. It isn’t going anywhere, and if there are about 4,000 happy people in the Garden State they would be the bookmakers.