Supreme Court's ruling on sports betting is a game changer for American sports

Within weeks, New Jersey residents will be able to place bets at Monmouth Park racetrack. But it won’t stop there.

The floodgates are open now. You want to place a bet on the Giants to win the Super Bowl? You’ll be able to do so legally, in a matter of weeks, at a shiny new sports book at Monmouth Park.

But this isn’t going to stop there. You can, ahem, bet on that.

Soon, you won’t have to make that drive to a racetrack or a casino — you’ll be able to visit a betting parlor in a shopping mall near your hometown. And, maybe sooner still, even that short trip will be unnecessary.

Why drive anywhere when you can open an app on your phone and place your bet right there?

Imagine a day when hundreds of Giants fans are placing that legal bet from their seats inside MetLife Stadium as their favorite team prepares to take the field for the opening kickoff. That would have seemed unthinkable even just a few years ago given the attitudes toward betting in this country.

But it’s coming.

The Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision in Murphy v. NCAA is a landmark moment for American sports and how we consume them. This doesn’t just pave the way for legalized sports betting in New Jersey, but does so for all states — and, make no mistake, Pennsylvania and New York and the rest are not going to let us have a little monopoly here.

The NFL and the other professional leagues, the ones who have fought this battle in court for years, will quickly come around, too. They’ll want a piece of the action like everybody else — they are already lobbying states to give them an “integrity fee” as part of any legislation — and they’re going to discover that this decision was plenty good for their business, too.

This isn’t just good news for the state’s coffers and the ailing horse racing industry that stands to benefit the most. This will be a boon for TV ratings, too, because nothing keeps eyeballs glued to a boring game like having a few bucks riding on the outcome.

Pro sports are not going to be besieged with corruption despite all the righteous handwringing. Here’s a prediction that I won’t even bother to give odd ons: We’re going to look back on this day in just a few years and wonder, “What the heck was the big deal, anyway?”

Full coverage of the Supreme Court ruling

Society will have largely accepted sports betting as part of life, much in the same way it has become a fixture in the United Kingdom. The whole conversation about the “integrity” of NFL games being compromised as a result is going to feel even more ridiculous than it does now.

“I was criticized eight years ago that this was just a Hail Mary pass eight years ago,” said Ray Lesniak, the former state senator behind this fight, “and now everybody is saying, ‘Of course!'”

Lesniak is the one who deserves to take the biggest bow on Monday. Yes, Gov. Phil Murphy’s name was on the case, and yes, it was his predecessor, Chris Christie, who signed the state’s first law legalizing sports betting six years ago after voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state constitution to allow it.

But it was Lesniak who saw the hypocrisy and the opportunity. It was him who kept pushing despite one legal setback after another knowing that, someday, the Supreme Court would have a say on this.

That day was Monday.

“The legalization of sports gambling requires an important policy choice, but the choice is not ours to make,” Justice Samuel Alito, a New Jersey native, said in the opinion. “Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own.”

New Jersey is ready to be the first to act. Monmouth Park hopes to be operational in time for the NBA Finals, a much needed boost for its bottom line. Lesniak promised that he’d be first on line when the racetrack’s sports book opens and a new era in American sports begins.

It will all seem crazy at first, but soon, it will become the new normal. And, yes, you can bet on that.

Steve Politi may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.