TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday said voters were "dumb" to reject north Jersey casinos in a referendum last month, and predicted the state will see casinos beyond Atlantic City within five years.

The governor also said he expects sports betting will be legal in the state by the time he leaves office in 2018.

Appearing as a co-host on WFAN's "Boomer and Carton" sports radio show, the Republican governor made his comments after fielding a call from a distraught John "Jay" Coffey, the mayor of Oceanport, the town that is home to Monmouth Park Racetrack.

"We're getting eaten alive by other states," said Coffey.

Coffey quickly voiced his support for a new measure in the state Assembly (A4255) that would allow New Jersey's racetracks, including Monmouth Park, to create legal "internet gaming cafes" at the tracks where those visitors could play already-legal online gambling games in a designated space leased by casinos.

"It's not going to happen, Jay," Christie said. "We just put a referendum on to have casino gaming in other parts of the state and it lost with 80 percent of the vote. Jay, the people have spoken."

New Jersey voters overwhelmingly shot down a ballot question asking whether to amend the constitution to allow casino gambling outside of Atlantic City by building two casinos in the northern part of the state.

"No, the people have spoken that they didn't want that legislation," Coffey said, but the governor cut him off.

"They do not want casino style gaming spread in other parts of the state," Christie said. "It's that simple. That's why I'm going for sports gambling. We're doing our best to try and get you sports gaming in Monmouth, which would really help Monmouth, but you're not getting VOTs (video gaming terminals), or slots or anything like that. ... It's not gonna happen."

Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex), a co-sponsor of the internet gaming cafe measure, has denied his bill is circumventing the public's will, noting that online gaming is legal in the state, and that bettors could simply be allowed to play those online games in a designated space leased by racetracks.

Christie said he supported the failed referendum because he feared that competition from across the Hudson River would soon dominate the north Jersey bettors market.

"All the New York money sponsored commercials in New Jersey, and people listened to the New York money, and you know what's going to happen?" Christie asked. "New York's going to expand casino gaming into New York City, they're going to make all the money, and New Jersey's not. And it was a dumb move by the voters, but they did it."

New Jersey lawmakers are prohibited from putting the question on the ballot before voters again for two years, but the governor said he was optimistic that by 2021, counties like Essex and Hudson and Bergen would be able to offer the same gaming offerings as Atlantic City.

He also laid down a marker on the fate of sports betting fight. Christie's administration has been fighting for years to legalize such wagering at New Jersey's casinos and racetracks but has been rebuffed in court each time. The state has now petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.

"I also think that we'll have sports gambling in New Jersey in the next year," Christie said. "Before I leave office, I think we'll have sports gambling in Monmouth Park."

Christie is term-limited and must leave office on Jan. 18, 2018.

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.