With the eyes of the gaming industry fixed on Texas, the godfather of legal U.S. sports betting believes it's only a matter of time before the Lone Star State joins the club.
"I think (legalization will) happen in Texas in the next legislative session," Chris Christie told Covers in a recent wide-ranging interview. Christie, who served as governor of New Jersey from 2010-18, was the catalyst for the wide-scale legalization of sports betting, spearheading the efforts to have the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) repealed by the Supreme Court in May 2018.
In the 5 1/2 years since that landmark decision, a whopping 39 states have adopted some form of legal retail and/or online sports wagering, with Missouri set to enter the fray some time in 2025. And Christie believes that Texas might very well be next, though Covers industry news analyst Ryan Butler contends that the election of Republican Adam Hinojosa to the state Senate will actually complicate efforts to introduce legal sports betting.
Christie isn't quite as bullish on California. The most populous state in the country is also the most notable omission from the list of states with legal wagering options, and Christie isn't sure that governor Gavin Newsom – who likely has a presidential run in his future – will want to make sports betting legalization a priority.
"I don't know about California," Christie told Covers. "This really takes gubernatorial leadership, and Gavin Newsom has got to decide if this is one of the issues he wants to lead on.
"Without gubernatorial leadership, the legislature won't do it because they're pulled, like taffy, in too many directions by too many different interests. Without the governor pushing for it, I don't think it'll happen."
Seventh time lucky
Christie knows well about the importance of unyielding advocacy. He recalled the repeated uphill battles he faced in his quest to repeal PASPA – and in particular, the stiff resistance he faced from the major professional sports leagues.
"I knew it was going to be a long fight because the leagues weren’t going to give in," said Christie, who prioritized legal sports gambling immediately after taking office in 2010 and drew up his first formal sports betting bill alongside Democratic counterpart Raymond Lesniak in 2014.
"I knew it was going to be a long and expensive fight, but I really think it was giving, initially, the public of New Jersey and ultimately the public of most of the country, what they wanted. People were doing it already through an illegal bookie, so why not do it legally through something licensed and sanctioned by the state?"
Christie added that he drew a great deal of personal satisfaction from the PASPA repeal, having spent the bulk of his time as New Jersey governor focused on sports betting legislation.
"My recollections of the sports betting side will always be with gratitude," he said. "We lost six times before we got the Supreme Court decision so it wasn’t like it was a lay-up! I was spending millions of dollars on (New Jersey lawyer and former U.S. solicitor general) Ted Olson, the legislature was giving me a hard time about being on some Don Quixote mission, so it was personally gratifying, too."
Full-scale legalization 'inevitable'
While there remains nearly a dozen states still dark on legal sports betting, Christie expects that to change – perhaps not imminently, but eventually, beginning with Texas sports betting.
"I really believe sports betting is inevitable to go just about nationwide, because people in America love their sports," he said. "They just do. I have a 28-year-old daughter who doesn't bet a lot of money but will still have like $10 on a six-way parlay on Sunday for the NFL, and it's making her watch every game. It has brought interest to people who otherwise might not have been watching football or some of the other sports.
"I think it is in the leagues’ best interests to grow their audience. The government gets some piece of the pie out of that which they enjoy, and the public seems to be pretty happy for the most part. We've got to continue to keep our eye on the statistics regarding compulsive gambling, and we have to make sure that we use some of that money to make sure that gambling addiction treatment is available to people who otherwise couldn't afford it. But that is the only downside I see to it."
He also says the states should remain in charge of legislative specifics despite growing calls for federal intervention in light of several notable sports betting scandals and other concerns over advertising practices, the surge in problem gambling, and ambiguity surrounding DFS/Pick 'Em and sweepstakes companies operating in areas where sports betting is illegal.
"Let the states handle it," Christie said. "The states are doing fine. You haven't heard of anything awful or irreversible happening since each state has been involved and they should have the ability to decide whether they want gambling in their state.
"There are certain states that won’t do it, and they should have the ability to do that, and it shouldn't become a nationwide thing. I don't think the federal government should have anything to do with it and I don't think they ever should have had anything to do with it with PASPA, and that was part of our argument. I don't think they have to be babysitters for the governors of the country. They can handle it."
Crypto and cannabis next?
Federal intervention on sports betting is less likely under a Donald Trump regime, with the President-Elect notoriously against heavy regulation. And while that should keep legislative matters clear on the sports betting front, Christie is curious to see what it could mean for the cryptocurrency industry.
Trump's stance on virtual and digital currencies has changed starkly since his previous time in office, and has suggested that the U.S. cannot afford to be left behind when it comes to cryptocurrency's evolution.
"I think (adoption of cryptocurrency) will develop because he'll not be in favor of doing a lot of regulating on it," Christie told Covers. "He's got to be careful, because when real people start to lose their money, and if that were to happen with crypto, they're going to want the government to step in. He's got to try to find a sweet spot where he can regulate it enough so that grandma is not getting ripped off, but not so much that he puts a cap on its ability to grow and be a driver of America's economy."
Wyoming is the only state that allows crypto, digital, or virtual currency as payment methods for online gaming, while Colorado and Virginia have rules in place that leave the introduction of alternate payment methods in the hands of their respective gaming regulatory bodies.
Americans might also see cannabis laws changed under Trump's second White House turn. Christie believes the Republicans will decriminalize marijuana in the interest of strengthening ties between store owners and businesses that have been otherwise hesitant to connect with them.
"The U.S. government has got to get its act together and decide what it really thinks on this issue, but I think the decision should be left to each individual state on cannabis regulation," Christie suggested. "What I think Trump will attempt to do is change marijuana to a non-scheduled drug that wouldn't be illegal, and then banks and other institutions would be more free to do business with cannabis store owners and entrepreneurs."
