Home / Poker News November 2010 / New Jersey passes online poker law
New Jersey passes online poker law
Posted by: James Carter. - Wed, 2010-11-24 13:36
Those who were looking for a legal precedent making
online poker a legitimate industry on US soil, may have finally gotten what they were wishing for. New Jersey’s State Senate passed the online gambling bill with 29 votes for and 5 against the other day, marking the first time ever that a bill aiming to legalize online poker and online gambling in the United States has passed through a legislative branch. The bill still needs to be signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie, but the move is a huge victory for the supporters of legal US online poker nonetheless.
New Jersey's biggest industry is the horseracing and live casino one, both of them badly hurt by the economic downturn and in dire need of help.
The state legislature is indeed dead serious about the issue. The above-mentioned online gambling bill was part of a package of seven laws, designed to help horseracing and casino gambling.
Harrah's Entertainment, one of the
WSOP’s main sponsors, is quite surprisingly opposed the New Jersey bill despite the fact that it owns four casinos in Atlantic City and despite having thrown its support behind a similar federal-level initiative.
Exactly what sort of game Harrah’s are playing is not clear but it may have something to do with their desire to focus the jobs and investment opportunities created by a possible federal bill to their Nevada headquarters.
Before you all go yelling hip hip hooray though, you may want to know that what the bill means is that only online sites hosted by Atlantic City casinos will be able to offer legal intrastate poker in New Jersey. Only New Jersey residents will be allowed to play, however on account of an amendment introduced by Sen. Raymond Lesniak, players from other parts of the world may be able to join the New Jersey poker rooms as well.
