Christie: Betting ban is absurd

New Jersey governor Chris Christie is joining the President in taking shots at the NFL, but his beef is over the “hypocrisy” of the league’s stance on sports betting.

The Republican governor — who is attempting to legalize sports betting in New Jersey but faces opposition in a lawsuit from professional sports leagues — called the NFL and other professional leagues out during an interview on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.”

“The hypocrisy is just so overwhelming,” Christie told Andrea Kremer during the segment. “They say because we have the Giants and the Jets and the Devils that somehow we shouldn’t be allowed to have gambling here because it somehow will threaten the integrity of the game. Well, you kidding? How isn’t it threatening the integrity of the game in Las Vegas for the NHL and NFL.”

Christie was referring to the NHL’s new team, the Vegas Knights, and the fact that the Oakland Raiders will soon relocate to Las Vegas — where sports gambling is legal.

“I mean, that’s why they no longer have any moral high ground on this,” he added. “They cannot make the integrity of the game argument anymore … because they have now gone to the sports gambling capital of America and put two of the four major sports now, having teams in that city. It’s over.”

The New Jersey governor hopes that overturning the federal law — which bans sports gambling in all but four states (Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, Montana) – can help boost his state’s economy and bring in more revenue.

While Christie is attempting to overturn the law in court, he thinks the NFL is fighting him because it wants a say in how much it can profit.

“I think not only do they want a piece, they want to determine the size of their piece,” Christie said. “And I think they have a much better chance to do that by negotiating just with Congress than they do with 49 other states.”