by Wayne Perry, The Philadelphia Inquirer
ATLANTIC CITY – New Jersey residents are nearly evenly split on whether the state should continue its efforts to legalize sports betting, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll found the state almost equally divided on whether New Jersey should appeal a recent federal court decision that upheld a prohibition on legalizing sports betting in the state.
New Jersey missed a chance to legalize sports betting in the 1990s; it is currently legal in only four states: Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, and Montana.
A federal appeals court last month ruled that New Jersey’s sports betting law conflicts with federal law and shouldn’t be implemented.
“The gut reaction of the electorate is one of indecision and hesitancy,” said Krista Jenkins, a professor of political science and the poll’s director.
State officials, backed by Gov. Christie, have been trying to overturn the federal law banning sports betting, arguing, among other things, that it is unconstitutional because it treats states differently.
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