States Look at Sports Betting to Aid Recession Woes

Gambling on Sports Being Looked at by the States to Help the Economy

The impact of the recession is being felt across the country to the extent that some states are looking at gambling on sports to get more money into state coffers. It is something that is being examined from West to East, North and South, as a way to survive the recession.

Baseball season is at the door. Football season has passed. But these are times when folks buy tickets. March Madness and Super Bowl pools bring in the bucks, so some states want a cut of that. In New Jersey, for example, Representative Ray Lesnia, (D) is looking to get a 1992 law overturned that bans sports betting. Other states have similar laws, except for Nevada that allows betting on sports around the country. Montana allowed fantasy football through a lottery last year. Lesnia says that the syndicate is getting the money through organized crime and it's time to get some of the money into state coffers.

Right now a number of states are poised to legalize gambling on sports, including Delaware, where Governor Jack Markell supports it, although it was first rejected. California will be considering it on May 19 by referendum. Illinois has a proposal to have tickets sold on line, Georgia examining it, Illinois has introduced lottery games, Kentucky is looking at racetrack betting, and the list goes on of those considering or involved right now in overturning gambling laws and putting sports betting in legal business so that they can get money for lagging budgets.

Legislators are betting that gambling will be allowed legally online. There are major pieces of legislation looking at this issue across the country as well as sports betting. This seems to be a bi-partisan movement with Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Peter King, R-N.Y., both bringing out legislation in the Congress to allow Americans to gamble legally online.