Former governor Christie: "Sports betting in NJ could begin within weeks"

New Jersey, home to several casinos along the Atlantic City boardwalk, has largely treated gambling as a bipartisan issue. Several attempts by the state to legalize sports betting were struck down in lower courts over the years.

The Supreme Court heard the case after Christie and the state of the New Jersey appealed a decision from the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upholding the federal ban. When Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy took office earlier this year, he replaced Christie as lead plaintiff.

Christie told ABC News that New Jersey had always pledged to be ready within two weeks after a SCOTUS decision on sports gambling.

On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which barred most states from taking sports bets, violated the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Christie said he always knew the Supreme Court would make the right decision because "nobody challenged it before."

"No one had the guts to challenge it before," he said. "It felt like the federal government had spoken on this and that we had to defer. I just didn't believe that was the case."

The NCAA and major U.S. professional sports leagues have argued that sports betting could undermine the integrity of the games. According to Christie, the argument that government regulation could lead to crooked athletes is "silliness."

"Somehow they're saying that when it's run legally and through government regulation, it risks the integrity of the game, but when betting has been run by mobsters and criminals, it doesn't. I mean it's ridiculous."

On college athletes who aren't getting paid and could be influenced, Christie argued: "Who do you think is more likely to try to bribe a kid; a state government or the mob?"

Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development, said in a press conference today he is planning to have sports betting “up and running in two weeks,” unless Murphy or the state legislature tell him otherwise.

The Supreme Court's full decision on the case can be found here.