More Details on New Jersey Online Gambling Bill

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Last week the New Jersey House Committee passed its version of Senator Ray Lesniak's online gambling bill. The Senator has now announced that the Senate version of the bill, which had been passed by a Senate committee earlier, will be put before the full Senate for a vote on May 31. No date for a full Assembly vote has yet been announced.

It was revealed last week, that the Assembly version of the bill, known as AB2578, had several amendments to it. Some of the amendments were available in news reports then, but now it seems that the amendments are more severe and far reaching than envisaged earlier. Section 37 will be crucial for online gambling operators that continued to service customers in the United States after the UIGEA was implemented in 2006. PokerStars is one of the key players in this category. The amended Section 37 states that any company that took bets from American players after December 31, 2006 will be denied an online gambling license in New Jersey. All possible loop holes have been plugged to prevent corporate maneuvering to get around the ban. However, there is a provision that permits applicants associated with defaulting operators to seek a waiver after meeting certain strict conditions.

Experts have opined that the amendments have been made to strengthen and protect major land casino companies that have been showing interest in a legalized online gambling regime through partnerships with experienced online gambling operators with a clean post-UIGEA record like 888.com and Bwin.Party digital entertainment. It is meant to keep out operators like PokerStars that till Black Friday held a major share of the unregulated online gambling market in the United States.

Another issue that may create an impediment to the legalization and regulation of online gambling in New Jersey is a recent Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind Poll whose results were just made public. The poll found that 58% of New Jersey State residents oppose legalized online gambling, while only 31% are in favor. Ironically the situation is reverse for legalization of sports betting. 60% of voters were in favor, 26% were against and 14% were unsure. 797 registered statewide voters participated in the telephone poll between April 30 and May 6. The other interesting details made available are that women were against online gambling with a margin of 65% to 25%; men were against by 52% to 37% and the only age group that supported online gambling was the 30 and under age group. Peter Woolley, director of the poll, said, "Online gambling may be a good bet for new state revenue, but lots of voters don't think it's a good bet for New Jersey."

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