Skip to main content

Christie: Adam Silver is doing a 'bait and switch' with sports betting

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has responded to comments that NBA commissioner Adam Silver made recently, where Silver asked Christie to work with him on the issue of legalizing sports betting.
  • Author:
  • Publish date:

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has responded to comments that NBA commissioner Adam Silver made recently, where Silver asked Christie to work with him on the issue of legalizing sports betting.

According to My 9 New Jersey, Christie said Monday night that it is "kind of crazy" that Silver asked for Christie's help in legalizing it, when Silver himself is fighting against it. Christie also referred to it as a "bait and switch."

In October, Christie signed a law removing prohibitions against sports wagering in New Jersey, a move that was opposed by the four major U.S. sports leagues, including the NBA, and the NCAA. A month later, U.S. district judge Michael Shipp issued an injunction against the effort, preventing the state from implementing the law.

Judge's injunction deals major blow to New Jersey's sports betting plan​

Despite the NBA's historical stance on gambling, Silver argued in a recent New York Times op-ed that it should be legalized in the U.S. under strict regulations and called for a more national approach.

Silver recently said on ESPN's Outside the Lines that Christie should "turn his attention to Washington, D.C., to Congress, and say, 'Here are all the reasons it should be regulated, but let's come up with a framework that makes sense on a national basis presumably that would allow states to opt in.'"

- Molly Geary