For years former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie worked to lead the way on the legalization of sports betting, and now that the U.S. Supreme Court has finally ruled in favor of rolling restrictions back on a federal level, he is giving all of the glory to the people who backed him in the battle.

"It's New Jersey's success. People in New Jersey paid to fight it for six years and we got it done," Christie told a TMZ staffer who raced to get his reaction to the court's decision, on Tuesday, May 22. The reporter then appeared to segue into whether there may be roadblocks to enacting new betting laws, but Christie cut in to spare him any more breath, adding: "You'll be betting by June."

As beneficiaries of the East Coast gambling hub of Atlantic City, and a history of racetrack betting to go along with the casinos, citizens and lawmakers in Jersey have long felt like they were hurt by a federal ban that came down on such wagers in 1992. Thus, Christie's headstrong will in advocating for the law to be overturned went a long way in getting the courts to grapple with the issue, as did the reported $9 million spent to push for such a ruling.

Now it all comes down to a matter of when for The Garden State. Christie has pleaded for the state's current overseers to grant venues the ability to take bets in time for Memorial Day Weekend, but he's received pushback from Senate President Stephen Sweeney and others who pose that proper regulations have not yet been put in place. Therefore Governor Phil Murphy won't even receive a bill on the issue until June 7.

Source:TMZ