Christie vetoes sports betting bill

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has vetoed a bill that would have allowed sports betting at the state’s racetracks and casinos, citing a federal ruling that has already deemed the practice illegal in the state.

The veto strikes down a bill that legislators crafted to work around the federal ruling that prevented a similar law from going into effect, calling it a violation of a 1978 federal ban on sports betting. Casinos and tracks had pushed for the latest law.

“Ignoring federal law, rather than working to reform federal standards, is counter to our democratic traditions and inconsistent with the Constitutional values I have sworn to defend and protect,” Christie wrote in explaining his veto.

New Jersey’s legislature passed the law in June shortly after the Supreme Court said it would not consider the state’s appeal of the earlier ruling.