Former New Jersey Senator Raymond Lesniak has stated that the US expansion of legalized online betting has helped to fight crime and create jobs.
Lesniak campaigned for 12 years to legalize sports betting and online gaming in the US. A decade ago, he sponsored a bill that was passed to allow online gambling by New Jersey residents over the age of 21.
The former New Jersey Senator has said racetracks in the Garden State have been ‘reinvigorated’ since online wagering was legalized.
Following the success of its first few months of operations and more than $2bn in wagers in the market’s first five weeks, neighboring state New York is also expected to expand its mobile sports betting market to include additional online operator licenses
Lesniak adds that increased regulation has affected criminals and additional state revenues have helped make regulation ‘an attractive prospect’ post-PASPA.
The former Senator stated: “I fought to generate revenue to restore the more than 15,000 jobs lost at New Jersey’s failing Atlantic City casinos and save thousands more jobs at our troubled racetracks.
“Generating revenue to the state was an added bonus. States throughout the nation saw our success and jumped on board. With New Jersey leading the way, regulated online betting and gaming has replaced unregulated offshore sites and organized crime betting rings. That’s a good thing for gaming.”
