Home / Poker News January 2011 / Online poker officially licensed and regulated in NJ
Online poker officially licensed and regulated in NJ
Posted by: James Carter. - Tue, 2011-01-11 09:19
It is now official: the state of New Jersey has become the first US jurisdiction in which placing online wagers is legal and regulated. January 10th 2011 may go down in the poker history books as the date when the online poker revolution began in the US. The State Assembly delivered a no-nonsense 63-11 vote in favor of the legislation, leaving it up to Governor Chris Christie to sign it into law within 45 days. The Governor does have the right to veto the bill, either conditionally (sending it back to the assembly for modifications) or absolutely, but it is apparently common knowledge that the Governor bears the Atlantic City Casinos’ fate at heart, so a veto from him is not likely. If no action is taken on the part of the Governor, the bill automatically becomes law after the 45-day period expires.
If all goes according to schedule, online poker and gambling (through Atlantic City casino hubs of course) will become legal on July 4th, lending further significance to the day for poker players.
Unlike other, federally proposed initiatives, the law will make online casino gaming legal as well. New Jersey residents should not expect to be allowed to play unrestricted online poker though. There will be extremely strict rules and regulations set by the bill, so
online poker and gambling will only be legal through certain channels.
Nor should supporters of online poker and those directly involved with the industry expect the New Jersey vote to be the herald of some outstanding things to come for US poker. The impact of the vote may be minimal or it may even be a negative one in the short-term. The big international poker giants like
Full Tilt Poker or
PokerStars are definitely not celebrating in the wake of the news, and they may even pull out of the state as a result of it.
