New Jersey Passes Online Gambling Bill
News broke via Twitter today that the New Jersey State Assembly has passed Bill A2578 permitting online gambling in the state. The bill, which will allow for online betting on a wide variety of casino games, differs from recently proposed federal legislation that made provisions only for online poker and certain state-run online lotteries and sought to outlaw all other forms of Internet wagering.
Passing with a vote of 48 to 24, with 4 assembly members abstaining, it now remains to be seen whether or not the state’s Republican governor, Chris Christie, will sign it into law.
Christie vetoed a similar bill in 2011. The billed that passed today has several major differences from the legislation Christie shot down last year, including banning the establishment of “Internet cafés” meant to attract online gamblers, an issue of concern to Christie in 2011.
As the servers for the gambling websites would be required to be physically located in Atlantic City, the new law is not in conflict with the New Jersey constitution, which provides for casino gambling only within that city. Last year Christie cited this possible constitutional issue as contributing to his decision to veto the bill.
The language of the bill is clear on this point, stating, “Internet gaming in this State shall be subject to the provisions of, and preempted and superseded by, any applicable federal law. Internet gaming in this State shall be deemed to take place where a casino’s server is located in Atlantic City regardless of the player’s physical location within this State.”
When questioned about the matter of online gambling earlier in 2012, Christie said, “I think New Jersey should be in that business. I think we should be an epicenter for that business.”
As with recently passed legislation green lighting online poker in Nevada and Delaware, players must be physically located in the state of New Jersey in order to access the gambling sites. Players will also need to be over the age of 21 to register an account.
News recently surfaced that online poker giant PokerStars has been in talks to purchase the beleaguered land-based Atlantic City Casino The Atlantic Club Casino and Hotel. The completion of that deal relies upon the implementation of the online gambling bill, which also clears the way for PokerStars to operate within the state despite having continued to accept US players following the 2006 passage of the UIGEA.
Previous language in the bill would have restricted the ability of offshore companies who operated in the US after 2006 to enter the New Jersey market, however revisions to the bill made about 2 weeks ago saw that language removed. The gambling industry has been struggling in New Jersey in recent years, and with October’s Superstorm Sandy hitting Atlantic City hard, online gambling revenue could prove to be critical to the state’s budget and that city’s recovery.
