Poker

New Jersey Attempts to Regulate Online Poker and Gambling

Last week the New Jersey Senate Wagering and Tourism committee cleared a bill allowing intrastate online poker and casino gambling. This was predicted by iMEGA chairman Joe Brennan al ready in February when the bill was introduced in the beginning of the year. This is the first such bill to be passed at state or federal level and marks a milestone in regulating online poker and casino games in the USA.

At the hearings Atlantic City land casinos complained of poor financial results and it was proposed that the only way to move forward and grow would be the introduction of gambling sites associated with the brick and mortar venues. It was argued that such a motion would bring at least $200 million in extra revenue and create close to 1,500 high tech jobs.

Of course there opposing views coming from the horse racing industry. Currently online betting on horse races is allowed and they claimed it will be a hard blow to have to compete with online casinos and online poker rooms. Nonetheless, this argument was not accepted horse betting will have to deal with this the same way it did when the ban on online gambling facilities at racetracks was removed.

Senator Ray Lesniak, who was sponsoring the bill, said that New Jersey seized the opportunity offered by federal law and UIGEA and will try an intrastate approach to regulating online gambling. "The state would benefit by being a 'first mover'.", said Brennan, "New Jersey will be able to position itself as the national and potential global capital of the next gaming industry."