Gambling for California’s Future

Posted on Aug 4, 2010

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The gamblers: Sports enthusiasts take in the games and place their bets at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where this sort of thing is currently allowed.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Golden State ain’t so golden these days, and Gov. Schwarzenegger is having a tough time finding a way to yank California out of a yawning financial hole. This is where gambling comes in.

According to an astute legal expert quoted in NBC San Diego’s PROPZERO blog, allowing sports betting in California could rake in as much as $1 billion per year. Great plan, right? Everyone wins—especially the house!

Sure, except for one giant obstacle, commonly known by the initials N, F and L.  —KA

PROPZERO:

Legalizing sports gambling in the state would require going up against one of the most powerful organizations on the planet.  More powerful than any labor union.  More powerful than any crime syndicate.  More powerful than Ace Parking.  We’re talking about the National Football League, and it’s a money making machine. Ironically the NFL is the most popular gambling sport.  Each year in Las Vegas, betters plop down nearly $100 million on the Super Bowl alone. 

But the NFL wants no part of legalized gambling in California.  According to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, “... state-operated single-game wagering presents a threat to the long-term health and integrity of our sport.”

New Jersey State Sen. Raymond Lesniak has a different take.

“They’re only fighting it because they’re not getting a piece of the action” he says.

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