Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is to be inducted into the Sports Betting Hall of Fame on April 25.
The induction ceremony will take place at the Sky Room in Manhattan during the ‘Betting on Sports America‘ conference. The conference itself is set to take place in nearby New Jersey at the Meadowlands Exposition Center.
Christie is being acknowledged for the major role he played in having sports betting unbanned in the USA. The 57-year old lawyer spent seven of his eight years as NJ Governor in a successful fight for this. He was rewarded in May 2018 when the Supreme Court ruled that the PASPA law forbidding sports betting was unconstitutional.
Since then eight US states have followed New Jersey’s lead and legalized sports betting. Many more are expected to follow as it becomes clear that legal sportsbooks are the best deterrent to illegal wagering.
Thanks to the internet, many offshore sportsbooks have illegally drained millions of dollars from the US every year. New Jersey wants to keep this money at home and have some of it paid to the state in taxes.
Former NJ Governor is first politician to make it
Rasmus Sojmark, the Founder and CEO of Sports Betting Community, the Hall of Fame curator, had this to say: “Governor Christie is the first politician we have inducted into the Sports Betting Hall of Fame. And there is good reason for it. Without the political will from the governor’s office it is questionable that PASPA would ever have been challenged in court.
“For that bravery, the industry is indebted to Governor Christie. His inclusion in the Hall of Fame is just a small thank you for his support.”
Christie, in turn, commented: “Sports betting was held back for too long by the unfair federal laws. I was more than happy to be the first to make a stand against them. I’m very proud and gratified to be recognized by the sports betting industry now that PASPA is a distant memory.”
The Sports Betting Hall of Fame was launched by SBC in 2016. It recognizes ‘individuals who have significantly contributed to the industry over the course of their careers’.
Currently, they include Sportradar Founder Carsten Koerl, Intralot co-founder Constantinos Antonopoulos, the world’s biggest independent bookmaker, Fred Done, and Bwin co-founder Norbert Teufelberger.
The Hall of Fame ceremony will come at the close of the Betting on Sports America conference.
