Home / Poker News February 2013 / Chris Christie Casts Conditional Veto on Poker Bill
Chris Christie Casts Conditional Veto on Poker Bill
Posted by: Mark Baldwing - Fri, 2013-02-08 08:02
Online poker scored a major victory yesterday when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie used his conditional veto option on a bill which will eventually make the game legal within the Garden State. The staunchest supporters of the bill had obviously hoped that the governor would sign the bill into law instead, but given the fact that he had rejected a similar legal initiative in 2011, the conditional veto which he cast upon the current poker bill represented a major breakthrough.
The veto - unlike some laymen may picture it - is not a stroke of a pen or a signature. It is in fact a 31 page document which details each and every one of the modifications and amendments the governor has requested to be made in the bill before he is willing to turn it into law through his signature.
Among other things, Christie has requested that the 10% tax rate stipulated in the bill be increased to 15%. He has also asked for a larger percentage of the tax- revenue to go towards dealing with the effects of problem gambling in the State. According to the main sponsor of the bill, Sen. Raymond Lesniak, the Senate is ready to approve the requested changes in its next voting session on March 18. Lesniak also said that he aimed to get the bill back onto Christie's desk for his signature as soon as possible.
The bottom line is that everything considered online poker has slowly but surely turned into a certainty for the Garden State. It remains to be seen whether the bill will produce the desired and projected economic impact, which would basically consist in the bailing out of the ailing Atlantic City live gambling industry. Furthermore, the bill will also make it possible for
PokerStars to acquire a land-based casino operation in the state.
