Home / Poker News December 2010 / The poker grapevine - online poker legal in New Jersey
The poker grapevine - online poker legal in New Jersey
Posted by: James Carter. - Wed, 2010-12-01 13:05
While we definitely do not want to make this out to be a huge development for the online poker cause, one must admit that it is indeed a significant step in the fight against the infamous 2006 UIGEA: the New Jersey State Senate has approved a bill which makes it legal and possible for casinos in the state to offer their customers legal intrastate
online poker. The same entities can offer online poker to international players as well. What this essentially means is that online poker and online gambling have pretty much become legal in the state of New Jersey. This move doesn't just mark the first time an initiative aimed at legalizing online gambling and online poker has been met with success, it also clearly points the way for other states interested in following suit. Provided that a large enough number of states eventually adopt similar measures, the provisions of the UIGEA may someday become obsolete.
Sen. Raymond Lesniak’s S150 creates a precedent attractive for Uncle Sam through the fact that it will allow the state to collect a 15% tax on all Internet gambling and poker revenues generated by the above named entities. In the wake of the approval of his bill, Lesniak also said that his initiative sent a clear message to federal authorities that the government had no Constitutional business to tamper with the rights of New Jersey residents to gamble and to play poker online.
According to Lesniak, his bill finally gave the state of way to cut a share of its own from the online wagering action which takes place anyway, presently siphoning money to offshore interests.
In other news: Harrah’s Entertainment just got rebranded as Caesars Entertainment in an apparent effort to keep up with changing times, in possible preparation for a future which is likely to include online gambling in one form or another.
