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 The New Jersey Senate Wager and Tourism committee has just approved a bill that would legalize online poker and casino gambling within the state. This is the first such bill to be passed by any Senate or House committee at any level of the government. At the pace the bill is moving one could expect to see New Jersey having legalized online gambling before the year is up.
During the hearing legislators were told that Atlantic City casinos are in bad financial shape and that one of the few options the land-based casinos have left is to create online gambling sites. The recent proposal would provide the legal backing for the casinos to operate across the state without relying on tourism.
Should the bill pass the State would also benefit. It is estimated that online casinos would generate at least $200 million in tax revenue a year and that it could create as much as 1,500 high tech jobs in the southern region of the state which has been suffering lately.
Fighting the bill is the horse racing industry. The federal government has already allowed online betting on horse racing and the online horse betting sector worries about competition from online casinos and poker rooms could hurt their business. To further hurt matters a provision of the bill that allowed for online gambling facilities at racetrack venues was removed so the horse racing industry may not see any cut of the action at all.
The bill's sponsor, Democratic State Senator Ray Lesniak, has been very pleased with the progress the bill has made thus far. He stated that federal law has given New Jersey a window in which to develop an online-gaming business model and he wants to be sure his state becomes the first to set things in motion.
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