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- Chris Christie admitted that legal sports betting grew far larger, more pervasive, and more disturbing than he originally anticipated.
- Christie urged states to fund addiction treatment while criticizing prediction markets for operating like unregulated gambling targeted at teens.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the legal sports betting market that emerged after his state’s fight against PASPA became far larger and more pervasive than he expected, especially after wagering moved to mobile.
Christie’s comments matter because New Jersey’s challenge to the federal ban helped reshape the U.S. sports betting industry after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA in 2018. In a new interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Christie also said states should keep examining the public-health effects of gambling expansion and direct a meaningful share of revenue to addiction treatment.
Christie signed a New Jersey law in 2012 permitting sports wagers at 12 casinos and four racetracks. The move directly challenged the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, the 1992 federal law that limited legal sports betting to Delaware, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon.
The NCAA, MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL sued, and the case eventually reached the Supreme Court in 2017. Christie told the Inquirer the legal path was difficult, saying, “We lost the first six times [in lower courts]. I had the sense that maybe I was wrong.”
Christie says mobile betting changed the industry
Looking back, Christie said he did not foresee how quickly legal sports betting would turn into an always-on digital product. “Completely. I don’t think I could ever have anticipated that it would be in everybody’s pocket,” he said when asked whether the industry had evolved beyond what he envisioned.
He added that the spread of mobile wagering was “a little bit disturbing,” even as the market continued to grow. The Inquirer reported that Americans wagered a record $165 billion on sports in 2025.
Christie, now a strategic adviser to the American Gaming Association, said scandals involving athletes and league personnel were inevitable once widespread legal betting arrived. He also reiterated that states benefiting from sports betting tax revenue should treat themselves as stakeholders in regulation and rely on evidence-based policymaking.
“I always thought that a big portion of this [revenue] has to go toward addiction treatment, and I think that’s got to continue,” Christie said.
Prediction markets draw fresh criticism
Christie also sharply criticized prediction markets, including products tied to companies such as Kalshi and Polymarket. He said those markets resemble gambling rather than investing and should face closer scrutiny.
“It’s betting. It’s not an investment. It’s not a commodity,” Christie said, adding that he believes prediction markets would lose if the Supreme Court ultimately takes up the issue.
He said their expansion is especially concerning because, in his view, they are being marketed to teenagers. The Inquirer also noted ties between Donald Trump Jr. and prediction market businesses, including an advisory role with Kalshi and investment links to Polymarket.
What comes next is less clear. Christie did not outline a specific legislative proposal, but his comments point to two issues likely to remain central in state and federal debates: how far sports betting regulation should go as mobile wagering expands, and whether prediction markets will be treated more like financial products or gambling.
Source: As reported by David Gambacorta.
