text: 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 ||||| Monday night's controversial touchdown call that gave the Seattle Seahawks a 14-12 victory over the Green Bay Packers had an immediate impact for gamblers. 
   
   If the Hail Mary pass by Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson would have been ruled an interception by Packers safety M.D. Jennings, Green Bay -- 3½ point favorites -- would have won by five, covering the spread. 
   
   Instead, the replacement officials' call that Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate had possession shifted all those who bet on the Packers to those who took the underdog Seahawks. 
   
   "Most of the customers in the sportsbook were not happy with the final call," said John Avello, director of the race and sportsbook at the Wynn in Las Vegas. "The shift was 100 percent. After the (Seahawks) score, all bets were reversed." 
   
   Avello's best guess as to how much money was shifted worldwide on the call? $150 million in total bets worldwide. 
   
   Jeff Sherman, assistant director of the race and sportsbook at the Las Vegas Hotel, says he estimates that the game shifted $15 million in Nevada alone and also concurs with Avello that the worldwide number, including offshore sportsbooks and in Europe, is worth about 10 times more. 
   
   Those who take bets online estimated the shift in money was even greater. 
   
   Mike Perry, spokesman for betting site Sportsbook.ag, told ESPN.com his estimate in the money swing on the call at the end of the game is closer to between $200 million and $250 million. 
   
   Perry said that 70 to 80 percent of the money on his site was put on the Packers, which is in line with the percentage bet in Vegas. At Mandalay Bay, the sportsbook took in about $500,000 in total bets, with about 85 percent of the money on the Packers. 
   
   Oddsmaker Danny Sheridan, who sets the lines for USA Today, had the highest estimate of those surveyed by ESPN.com. Sheridan said Tuesday morning that he believes that $1 billion in total money changed hands with the touchdown call. 
   
   While there has been no way to handicap the exact part that replacement officials play in spreads, Avello says that it's not the first time this year that spreads have been altered by bad calls. 
   
   "It's the first call that has directly affected the outcome, but there have been many that have affected the outcome or the spread directly," he said. 
   
   The call didn't just have an immediate impact on gamblers, it also impacted the Packers' Super Bowl odds. After Monday night's game, the Las Vegas Hotel has changed the odds for the Packers to win the Super Bowl from 7-1 Monday to 9-1 Tuesday.
target: – 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.