Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday he doesn't have a timetable for when he'll sign a bill authorizing legal sports betting in New Jersey a but he insisted he's not "sitting on it."

"I want sports betting," Murphy said during a news conference in New Brunswick. "Believe me a I want to place the first bet in New Jersey if I can. But we want to make sure we do it right. We just got the bill. We're going through it, and we're not gonna sit on it."

"We're going to have sports betting sooner than later in New Jersey," he added. "We're really excited about that."

The fate of New Jersey sports betting is now in Murphy's hands after both houses of the state Legislature voted overwhelmingly Thursday to pass the bill, which would regulate and tax such wagering online and in person at the Garden State's casinos and racetracks. 

The vote came less than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court handed New Jersey a victory in its seven-year, $9 million case to legalize betting on sports games. 

Murphy now has 45 days to either sign or veto the legislation. Asked if he'll take all 45 days to act, Murphy said: "I sure as heck would hope not."

Lawmakers from both political parties are asking Murphy to act quickly a not only because New Jersey has already waited years for this but because the Supreme Court allowed states around the U.S. to legalize such betting, and legislators here want to capitalize on the tax revenue as soon as possible. 

State Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso, R-Monmouth, said New Jersey is about to miss out on "a really big weekend for sports." The Belmont Stakes, NBA Finals, Mets vs. Yankees Subway Series, French Open and more are on the schedule. 

"That is a huge missed opportunity and an even bigger loss for our gambling industry," DiMaso added. 

Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, R-Union, also called on Murphy to sign the bill immediately.

"Let's not play politics after years of hard-fought litigation," Bramnick said. "The state is losing revenue every day we wait."

But Murphy said he's not going to "change my stripes just because it's a big weekend."

Then there's the issue of Monmouth Park. Officials at the Oceanport racetrack say their long-awaited sports betting operation is ready to go. And lawmakers stripped out language from the bill that would have penalized casinos and tracks if they started betting before Murphy signs the measure into law. 

But the New Jersey Racing Commission sent a letter late Thursday warning tracks that they could risk getting a sports betting license if they didn't wait for Murphy.

Monmouth Park operator Dennis Drazin said he wouldn't go ahead with plans to begin accepting bets at 5 p.m. Friday if he didn't have the governor's blessing. 

Atlantic City casinos have said they are also waiting for the law to begin. Officials at the Borgata casino said "the governor must still sign the bill" and that they are "eager to review regulations as soon as they are issued."

State Sen. Declan O'Scanlon, R-Monmouth a who represents the district where the track is location a said there's "no practical reason" to keep the track at bay.

"The sky won't fall, lions won't roam the streets, locusts won't ravage our fields," O'Scanlon said. "That being the case, one has to wonder about the motivation here. It's disturbing."

Murphy denied rumors that he was using sports betting as leverage in tense state budget negotiations with his fellow Democrats who run the state Legislature. 

Former state Sen. Raymond Lesniak a who led New Jersey's charge for sports betting for years a called the letter that Murphy's administration sent to the tracks "an abuse of government." 

"It's Nixonian," said Lesniak, D-Union. "'If you do this, we're gonna look at you really closely.'"

Murphy also brushed aside criticism over how he already announced he would sign a set of gun control bills Wednesday that the state Senate passed Thursday, noting the Assembly already passed them more than a month ago.

He said the sports betting bill was still being altered up until Thursday's vote.

"Big difference," Murphy said during the news conference at the Heldrich Hotel. "Those bills that got voted on the Senate yesterday, we had visibility on them from the Assembly for six weeks. We had already kicked the tires."

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/06/no_nj_sports_betting_yet_but_murphy_insists_hes_no.html