New Jersey Approves Bill To Regulate Online Gambling

New Jersey Approves Bill To Regulate Online Gambling - Image via Wikipedia

In a bold move, the NJ state assembly approved a bill for online gambling run through casinos.  The bill passed state Senate in a 63 to 11 vote this week and  passes along to Governor Chris Christie to sign.

Christie has not commented on his position on online gambling publicly, but he has been collecting ideas to boost state income for some time. Many bills he will look favorably on will include proactive state revenue plans. If the bill is approved, NJ will be the first state to regulate and allow online gaming.

This could put momentum into other state’s stalled legislation on the subject. New Jersey has casinos with experienced management of gaming programs, which would most likely consult on the regulations. If the bill becomes law, supporters suggest it would bring 500 new tech jobs to the city.

The way the bill is written will be an important factor in how it benefits US online players in general. If the bill regulates NJ play by NJ Casinos, and shuts out other states from regulating their own district, then the bill will likely cause big online sites like PokerStars and FullTilt Poker to pull out of NJ. Federal law could also step in and prevent states from passing laws to create their own online poker network since technically online gambling is illegal in the US. The bill may pass, but then go through miles of court hours to determine the outcome.

If federal law changes however, NJ would be in the prime position to take off with revenues. Other states may be left behind with restrictive laws that make online gaming a felony, such as Washington State.

The bill in New Jersey was approved by a large majority of the bipartisan Houses. This shows that the bill can transcend politics and be used as a solution to raising state revenues, a continuing bipartisan issue.

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Posted by Odessa Holtzen on Jan 9 2011. Filed under Poker Legal News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.