New Jersey's lawmaker has said that some of America's professional sports leagues want to 'extort' money from states looking to legalize sports betting and he has cautioned the state leaders across the country not to let it happen.
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney told that he has sent a letter to the legislative leaders and governors in all the 50 states urging them not to give the leagues "integrity fees".
The leagues are asking for a chunk of share from sports betting revenue after seven years of fighting New Jersey in Court.
In the letter, Sweeney asserted that the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, along with the NCAA, have tried multiple times to stop New Jersey from allowing its casinos and racetracks to accept bets on pro and college sports games.
The US Supreme Court overturned a federal ban on such bettings, it would now allow all the states to legalize sports books and begin profiting from a multi-billion industry that was illegal until now.
Sweeney also said that this was a 'hypocritical attempt to extort' money from states and cited his concern saying that such a fee would actually lead to increased skepticism among the people.
Murphy, a fellow democrat, was asked during a press conference on Wednesday about his stance on Sweeney's letter. He said, "I won't be commenting on the specifics of the bill but I would like you to know that we are working with the Senate president and his team and speaker's team as we pull this thing together."