Commenting on the US Department of Justice's intention to join the US national sports leagues in challenging New Jersey's bid to offer intrastate sports betting, the Garden State's Governor Chris Christie said that such a move by the DoJ did not take him by surprise.
“If in fact we were attacking a federal statute - which is what we're doing – we're saying that the statute prohibiting us from offering sports gambling is unconstitutional; the Justice Department has an obligation to stand up for the constitutionality of laws that have been passed by Congress and signed by a President, which this law was,” he said. “So I'm not the least bit surprised and, fine – they'll get to submit a brief, too."
In addition, he noted that this matter will be decided in the courts, and that he still feels positive about the outcome. “Either we're going to win or not, and I don't think the Justice Department involvement is surprising," he said.
A similar position was occupied by the governor last year when he signed the state sports betting bill into law, on which occasion he expressed his readiness to face litigation if necessary in the state's attempt to challenge the federal PASPA legislation, which restricts sports betting to only four US states.
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