BY GINA G. SCALA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Playing the odds can be a dangerous thing; ask anyone who has ever placed a bet. In this case, the Garden State, with its long, long history of fighting for what is right, is about to bet the whole house and potentially lose millions.

But only if the National Football League loses a lawsuit to stop legalizing sports gambling in New Jersey and plays their trump card — the Super Bowl.

“If New Jersey goes ahead with its plan and has sports betting, I don’t think there’s a chance in the world of us getting another Super Bowl,” Giants co-owner John Mara told USA Today. “I’m not concerned about this Super Bowl, but I will say this: it would be difficult for us to get support of the other owners for another one.”

The NFL, along with the NCAA, MLB, NBA and NHL, filed a joint lawsuit on Aug. 7 against the state of New Jersey for intending to legalize sports gambling, according to the New York Times. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, or "The Bradley Act," prohibits gambling on sporting events in the United States, with a few exceptions granted for certain states, including neighboring Delaware. The First State is currently looking to expand sports betting to include placing bets online. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a similar bill last year.

While the NFL isn’t saying whether they’d hold the 2014 Super Bowl hostage unless the state backs down, Christie told the Asbury Park Press that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “didn’t raise the issue with me in our conversation about hosting the Super Bowl, so I think we'll be fine.

"We're well on the way, us and New York, in terms of planning for the Super Bowl and I have no concerns about that. Do I have any direct assurances from (the NFL)?,” he added. “No, I haven't. We'll be fine. We'll prepare for the Super Bowl, do a great job with the Super Bowl, and we'll have our separate legal fight."