UPDATES with NFL’s reaction below, then President Obama’s: 
 
 “We appreciate Senator Sweeney’s interest, but officiating controversies have always been a part of sport,” said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. “Our staff, including Commissioner [Roger] Goodell, has been in negotiations with the referees union for the past week. We hope to reach agreement as soon as possible.” 
 
 President Obama this afternoon was asked about the game’s ending: 
 
 “Terrible,” he told reporters. “I’ve been saying for months, we’ve gotta get our refs back.” 
 
 There has been vociferous negative reaction nationwide to the controversial ending to the Monday Night Football game between Green Bay and Seattle – especially among bettors: professional sports bettor R.J. Bell estimates that the “house,” which was stuck with twice as much money bet on the Packers, collected an extra $150 million overall because the Packers lost against the point spread instead of the Seahawks. 
 
 But Jersey always like to step things up a notch in their own way – and has done so again. 
 
 State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester County, whose beloved Packers came out on the wrong end of a bad call in the game’s final play, on Tuesday announced that he isn’t going to take it lying down. 
 
 Sweeney noted to the Associated Press that the NFL is the same league that has sued New Jersey to stop sports betting for a perceived threat to the integrity of the game. 
 
 So here’s Sweeney’s press release in response to the botched finish: 
 
 “New Jersey state Senate President Stephen Sweeney today said he plans to introduce legislation prohibiting the playing of professional sporting events with replacement officials, citing the potential for increased injury by inexperienced referees who cannot control a game. 
 
 “This past weekend in the NFL has not only made a mockery of a great sport, but shined a very bright light on how important fully trained and professional officiating is to player safety,” said Sweeney. “We wouldn’t allow a factory or construction site to operate without fully trained supervisors on hand to ensure the safety of employees. Why should we do anything differently when the job site is a playing field?” 
 
 Sweeney said that the litany of missed calls or blatantly miscalled penalties over the first three weeks of the National Football League (NFL) season has proven the replacement officials do not have the ability to control a game in a highly physical sport where players get injured on routine plays even under the most well-trained of referees. 
 
 Sweeney said that replacement officials also lower the quality of play, devaluing the often large investments fans have made in tickets. 
 
 “Whether the sport is football, soccer or baseball, when referees don’t know how to properly enforce the rules, there is a real chance for unnecessary and serious injury,” said Sweeney. “If the NFL insists on putting replacement officials on the field, putting players at risk, then the state shouldn’t be playing a part in that.” 
 
 Comments 
 
 comments ||||| The allegations have also raised questions for the unregulated industry, including whether or not professional fantasy players have an unfair advantage over regular players. Sports Business Daily found that over the first half of this year’s Major League Baseball season, 91 percent of player profits in daily fantasy sports were won by just 1.3 percent of the players. In fact, the top 11 players on average paid $2 million in entry fees and made $135,000 in profit while accounting for 17 percent of all entry fees. 
 
 Many of the professionals use automated processes that let them change hundreds, if not thousands, of lineups in seconds, a decided advantage when last-minute changes are made in the lineups of real football, basketball or baseball teams. 
 
 The Wall Street Journal first reported on the F.B.I. interviews of players. 
 
 Last week, the New York attorney general opened an inquiry into the prospect that employees of DraftKings and FanDuel won lucrative payouts based on information not available to the public. In addition, three class-action lawsuits have been filed alleging fraud — the most recent in Louisiana, where the operation of daily fantasy sports sites is prohibited. The plaintiff, Artem Genchanok, a New Orleans resident, said he had paid entry into DraftKings and FanDuel contests and deposited money on their websites despite the prohibition. 
 
 Lawmakers have been intensifying calls for federal regulation and inquiries into the industry. 
 
 In Washington, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and a member of the House Judiciary Committee, this week called on the panel to examine “whether permitting a multibillion-dollar industry to police itself serves the best interests of the American people.” 
 
 Senator Robert Menendez and Representative Frank Pallone Jr., Democrats of New Jersey, held a news conference Tuesday outside MetLife Stadium, the home of the Giants and the Jets, to reiterate their calls on the Federal Trade Commission to implement safeguards and ensure a fair playing field. 
 
 And Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, on Monday formally called for a federal investigation into any deceptive or fraudulent practices at daily fantasy sports leagues. 
 
 “Consumers had no foreseeable knowledge that these companies were facilitating employees’ use of proprietary data to provide themselves with an advantage when playing users on their rival site,” Blumenthal said in a letter to the Justice Department and the F.T.C. “If employees are using insider information to unfairly advantage themselves over others, this may constitute fraud regardless of any other federal or state gambling statutes.”
– New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney has introduced a bill that would make it illegal for replacement referees to work in the state, arguing that they are a danger to players' safety, the Bergen Record reports. "We wouldn’t allow a factory or construction site to operate without fully trained supervisors on hand to ensure the safety of employees," Sweeney reasoned in a statement. "Why should we do anything differently when the job site is a playing field?" Both the Giants and the Jets play in New Jersey. The NFL brushed aside Sweeney's concerns, saying that "officiating controversies have always been a part of the sport." But judging by the reaction so far, that's not likely to appease anyone. ESPN tweeted that the NFL offices have gotten more than 70,000 voicemails regarding the botched call. And more than pride and playoff berths are at stake: Las Vegas bookies estimate that between $150 million and $200 million in bets swung on the call.