TRENTON, N.J. -- Sports betting _ once considered a dead issue for Atlantic City _ is getting another look.
Lured by the chance of collecting hundreds of millions more in taxes, the leader of the Assembly Budget Committee is pushing the plan. And to make it more attractive to the non-gambling public, it calls for hospitals to get as much as $300 million from the proceeds.
Gov. James E. McGreevey is willing to hear details, as are the state's hospitals.
A decade ago, public opinion and opposition from pro sports leagues helped sink a push to allow casino wagers on sports, but the image of Atlantic City has changed, said Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald, D-Camden. So, too, has the state's economy, making the idea of taxing the wagers that much more inviting.
"We have gambling in New Jersey. I think we've demystified the notions of corruption in the casino industry," Greenwald said. "We need to look at something that helps them and, in helping them, helps us."
Greenwald will meet Monday with hospital officials to ask for their support.
Under his plan, the state would tax the betting and send hospitals a portion to help pay the cost of medical care for the working poor and uninsured. No wagers would be allowed on college or other amateur sports events.
Exactly how much would be wagered at the 12 casinos _ and how much would be collected by the state _ is not known.
"It's clearly hundreds of millions of dollars," Greenwald said. Last year, Nevada's 161 sports books handled $1.8 billion in wagers and won $123 million from gamblers, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
If hospital officials approve of using gambling tax revenues, Greenwald said he would ask them to lobby Congress to repeal a 1993 law that bans sports betting anywhere but Nevada.
The New Jersey Hospital Association, the hospitals' lobbying arm, has discussed the sports betting issue with Greenwald, as well as other ideas to fund so-called charity care.
"The gaming proposal is just one of many options that have been part of those discussions," spokeswoman Kerry McKean-Kelly said Friday.
McGreevey is open to the idea, spokesman Micah Rasmussen said.
"We look forward to reviewing the details," he said.
If the Legislature clears his bill, it could lead to a court fight. Greenwald maintains that the federal ban is unconstitutional and said he will ask the attorney general to review the issue.
Atlantic City casinos have long wanted to offer sports betting, saying they are at a disadvantage against the Las Vegas casinos. They could use the boost now, with the prospect of new competition in surrounding states threatening to siphon business from the Boardwalk.
"It'd be a huge benefit to Atlantic City. It would enable us to compete with Las Vegas. Sports betting in Las Vegas is dynamic, huge, almost a separate industry," said Dennis Gomes, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey.
He would not estimate how much it could generate in New Jersey, but said the business boost would mean new jobs and perhaps more casino expansions.
"I don't know the numbers, but it's a lot of revenue. It would attract a tremendous number of customers.
"A huge number of our customers would love to have it. The big ones all go to Las Vegas and they're always making bets in sports books. It would be a boon to Atlantic City," Gomes said.
Gamblers _ especially those who patronize Atlantic City casinos' race books _ often ask why they can't bet on sports there, he said.
In 1993, New Jersey was exempted from a federal law banning sports betting anywhere but Nevada. The law gave New Jersey until Jan. 1, 1994, to approve sports betting for Atlantic City. But the casinos lost the opportunity when the Legislature failed to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
At the time, sports betting was opposed by U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., and by the National Basketball Association, as well as other professional sports leagues.
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Lured by the chance of collecting hundreds of millions more in taxes, the leader of the Assembly Budget Committee is pushing the plan. And to make it more attractive to the non-gambling public, it calls for hospitals to get as much as $300 million from the proceeds.
Gov. James E. McGreevey is willing to hear details, as are the state's hospitals.
A decade ago, public opinion and opposition from pro sports leagues helped sink a push to allow casino wagers on sports, but the image of Atlantic City has changed, said Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald, D-Camden. So, too, has the state's economy, making the idea of taxing the wagers that much more inviting.
"We have gambling in New Jersey. I think we've demystified the notions of corruption in the casino industry," Greenwald said. "We need to look at something that helps them and, in helping them, helps us."
Greenwald will meet Monday with hospital officials to ask for their support.
Under his plan, the state would tax the betting and send hospitals a portion to help pay the cost of medical care for the working poor and uninsured. No wagers would be allowed on college or other amateur sports events.
Exactly how much would be wagered at the 12 casinos _ and how much would be collected by the state _ is not known.
"It's clearly hundreds of millions of dollars," Greenwald said. Last year, Nevada's 161 sports books handled $1.8 billion in wagers and won $123 million from gamblers, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
If hospital officials approve of using gambling tax revenues, Greenwald said he would ask them to lobby Congress to repeal a 1993 law that bans sports betting anywhere but Nevada.
The New Jersey Hospital Association, the hospitals' lobbying arm, has discussed the sports betting issue with Greenwald, as well as other ideas to fund so-called charity care.
"The gaming proposal is just one of many options that have been part of those discussions," spokeswoman Kerry McKean-Kelly said Friday.
McGreevey is open to the idea, spokesman Micah Rasmussen said.
"We look forward to reviewing the details," he said.
If the Legislature clears his bill, it could lead to a court fight. Greenwald maintains that the federal ban is unconstitutional and said he will ask the attorney general to review the issue.
Atlantic City casinos have long wanted to offer sports betting, saying they are at a disadvantage against the Las Vegas casinos. They could use the boost now, with the prospect of new competition in surrounding states threatening to siphon business from the Boardwalk.
"It'd be a huge benefit to Atlantic City. It would enable us to compete with Las Vegas. Sports betting in Las Vegas is dynamic, huge, almost a separate industry," said Dennis Gomes, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey.
He would not estimate how much it could generate in New Jersey, but said the business boost would mean new jobs and perhaps more casino expansions.
"I don't know the numbers, but it's a lot of revenue. It would attract a tremendous number of customers.
"A huge number of our customers would love to have it. The big ones all go to Las Vegas and they're always making bets in sports books. It would be a boon to Atlantic City," Gomes said.
Gamblers _ especially those who patronize Atlantic City casinos' race books _ often ask why they can't bet on sports there, he said.
In 1993, New Jersey was exempted from a federal law banning sports betting anywhere but Nevada. The law gave New Jersey until Jan. 1, 1994, to approve sports betting for Atlantic City. But the casinos lost the opportunity when the Legislature failed to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
At the time, sports betting was opposed by U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., and by the National Basketball Association, as well as other professional sports leagues.
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