Home / Poker News November 2010 / Online poker to be legalized in New Jersey?
Online poker to be legalized in New Jersey?
Posted by: Jo Martin - Wed, 2010-11-17 14:27
Will New Jersey be the first US state legalize online poker? It certainly looks that way. One of the nation's top gambling destinations, New Jersey has seen gambling revenue plummet lately at a rather alarming rate. Not all the bad news could be written off to the economic downturn, although the unfavorable economic climate must definitely have had its fair share of guilt in it.
Neighboring states however like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut have stepped up competition for traditional gambling destinations like Atlantic City.
Nothing describes the dire state of Atlantic City's gambling businesses better than the fact that they have posted declining numbers for no fewer than 26 consecutive months.
The alarming developments have apparently prompted action. The architect of the bailout move which would basically consist in the legalization and taxation online poker, is Sen. Ray Lesniak, whose S490 bill has already cleared the first hurdle on its way to setting up a committee which would oversee Internet-based poker and gambling within the state of New Jersey.
The bill will still need to pass the state Senate and it also requires the approval of the Assembly and the governor. If it is signed into law, S490 would grab a share of about 20% of the selected online gambling operations’ revenue, money which would then be used for the subsidizing of the state’s ailing horse racing industry. Not only would it relieve brick-and-mortar casinos from the task of backing the horseracing industry, it would also generate extra revenue for the state.
By virtue of the fact that the bill would only make
online poker and online gambling legal within the state of New Jersey, the law would circumvent the provisions of the unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The law would probably turn New Jersey into a haven for local and international online gambling interests.
