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 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie caved in to his party and vetoed a bill that would have legalized and regulated online gambling in New Jersey. After weeks of suspense, Christie vetoed the bill for "legal and constitutional concerns," saying that the state's bill failed to set a statewide referendum prior to amending the authority of the Casino Control Commission established in the state constitution and that a federal version of the bill is already on its way.
"The planets have aligned rather quickly for this federal version to succeed in Congress," he said. "Since it's couched as law enforcement legislation, it's gained new support from conservative Republicans." Christie's comments throughout the press conference clearly showed that his party had a major hand in his decision and it has come at a cost to New Jersey residents.
New Jersey is in the midst of a budget crisis and the state stood to reap as much as $55 million a year in tax revenue from online gambling. It is now unclear how legislators will be able to balance the state budget.
Despite the bill being vetoed many state senators including Sen. Raymond Lesniak have stated that they will still work to "bring this bill back to the governor's desk." Sen Lesniak told reporters, "While the governor expressed concern with some aspects of the bill today, he's committed to the general idea that we have to expand gaming product in order to bring our gaming industry back from the brink of fiscal insolvency. I'm encouraged that he's expressed an interest to work together to maintain the core idea behind internet wagering."
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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