New Jersey could be the first state to legalize online gambling

Aug. 26, 2011, Posted by Pokerfarm

We've recently made an in-depth analysis of recent political changes in the United States and how these changes could affect online gambling and online poker in particular. As we have predicted, things could be moving slowly for the better and here's some news that support our initial claims.

State Senator Raymond Lesniak recently reintroduced his Internet gambling bill to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Christie vetoed the original bill because 'he was concerned that Internet gambling cafes could start popping up state-wide'. Although this makes no sense whatsoever because of the fact that people would play from their very own homes, the Governor had no second thoughts about killing the proposed bill in March. Senator Lesniak also said that he would not reintroduce the bill unless he's given confirmation that the new bill will not be vetoed. That confirmation never came to be.

Seeing that the Super Committee will now run the Congress, the Senator did in fact reintroduce the bill a couple of days ago in hope of saving the New Jersey horse-racing industry from falling apart. Horse-racing is a huge business and a big part of New Jersey economy and could be witnessing its final days unless something is done immediately.

Although the Governor's opinion hasn't changed of late, Lesniak sees room for improvements and has high hopes for the new bill. This is what he said in a recent interview:

"I'm hoping that the governor will realize what is happening to the (horse-racing) industry by him not supporting any subsidies online gaming can provide. I'm hoping the governor will reassess his position, and that Republican representatives from that area will help him change his mind. I think the opportunity is here to get together and change his view."

The Senator also continued by saying that he will reintroduce the bill again by the end of the year as he has now fixed the Governor's concerns about rising gambling cafes and hopes that would change his opinion dramatically. He also stated that some of the Republican representatives, who are thought to have an influence on Christie, could help him with his quest.

Following the recent changes in America's political hierarchy and House Majority Leader Harry Reid's statement that online poker will get regulated, things are looking a bit brighter for American players. There will certainly be a price to pay if Internet poker is re-legalized, but that is up to the future and not the players themselves. If they put enough pressure on their political piers, we might see a sudden turn of events in the future. If not, American online gambling will still be stuck in its Dark Age for a long, long time.