Dear Editor:
The popular political thing to do recently was to raise tax money and legalize marijuana, and many of the states passed legislation. Now, you will see plenty of states rush to legalize “sports betting,” and one reason is that the State of New Jersey has reported tremendous action since sports betting has become legal in New Jersey. Ohio now is going to legalize sports betting, and you will see state after state follow. The states want tax dollars, and they say the bookies make a fortune, so people are betting anyway, so why not legalize it.
I originated and maintained a thoroughbred racing data base for 10 years and my clients were New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and California racetracks, and all the NY OTB regions. I know a little bit about gambling. Making sports betting legal is no favor to anyone, except the money hungry states. Yes, it is popular, but It is predictable that few win in the long run gambling, and families are ruined when they blow the rent money trying to beat the “spread” or to beat the “over and under”, parlays etc.
Legalized marijuana, popular thought it is, isn’t helping anyone either, except the states. Ask the cops in New Jersey, in about a year whether legalized marijuana is a benefit or a bust that was a wrong, hurtful, state money grab.
New Jersey is only blowing the profits anyway from taxing sports betting and weed by giving undocumented immigrants free everything, and I mean everything.
-DAVID F. LIPTON
Toms River, NJ
