Initially the bill was vetoed by the Governor due to issues surrounding transparency and taxes. Lawmakers adjusted the writing and the amended bill passed by an overwhelming majority in the legislature and earned Christie’s seal of approval.
Listed here are the basics of the bill:
– Casinos located in Atlantic City will be able to use for a license to supply online gambling. Only the twelve official Atlantic City casinos is going to be entitled to the license. No other organizations could offer internet gambling, and face stiff fines if they do. All facilities employed for the operation of internet gambling should be located within city limits; only bets which can be received by way of a server in Atlantic City is going to be legal.
– Players should be “physically present” in New Jersey to put wagers. As time goes on, New Jersey may develop agreements with other states where internet gambling is legal to permit out-of-state gambling. The casino’s equipment must verify players’ locations before accepting wagers.
– Any games offered to play in the casinos could be played online. (For comparison, Nevada only allows poker.) As of this moment, sports betting will not be protected by this bill, although the state of New Jersey is attempting to fight the federal statute barring the legalization of sports betting.
– The bill has all kinds of provisions to help keep gambling addiction from increasing, such as requiring the prominent display of the 1-800-GAMBLER hotline number, a way to set maximum bets and losses over a specific time frame, and tracking player losses to identify and limit users who may demonstrate addictive gambling behavior.
– Revenue from online gambling will carry a 15% tax. yakin777 The Christie administration states that about $180 million in revenue for the state is going to be generated out of this tax, however, many analysts think this number is seriously overestimated.
The state regulations, that your bill required the Division of Gaming Enforcement to produce, were released on June 3, and are susceptible to a “public comment period” until August 2 before being finalized. These rules include details such as what sort of casino acquires the correct licenses and procedures for maintaining network security on gambling sites.
So, will online gambling actually benefit the state?
The Good
Revenues from Atlantic City casinos have been on the decline for the past seven years, and online gambling might be what saves the failing casinos. Since 2006, casino revenue has dropped from $5.2 billion to around $3 billion. Online gambling might be a $500 million to $1 billion industry in New Jersey, which might be enough to help keep struggling casinos afloat and save jobs in Atlantic City. Further, although estimates of tax revenue are all around the map, there’s possibility of online gambling to become a considerably valuable supply of money for the state. The casinos will also need to pay a tax to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, that’ll provide further assist with struggling casinos in Atlantic City.
For the gamer, low overhead costs mean better prizes and more opportunities to play. Casinos can incent players with free “chips” which have minimal costs for them but give players more opportunities to play and win. The convenience of gambling online allows players to play more with less travel.
BAD:
Among the goals of the bill is supposedly to attract more people to go to the brick-and-mortar casinos, but it’s hard to express if online gambling will in actuality lead to the outcome. One could speculate it could even cause people to visit the casinos less (However, this seems unlikely; the social element and the free drinks are lost in online gambling. Also, research indicates that, at the least with poker, internet gaming doesn’t reduce casino gaming.) Advertising for the host casino is going to be allowed on the web gambling sites, which could possibly encourage people to go to the casino but may be annoying for players.
Online gambling might be seriously devastating for those who have gambling addictions, as well as cause people to produce them, raising financial and moral concerns. Even with all the current preventative steps the bill requires, it will surely be much harder to stop compulsive gamblers if they can place bets anywhere with a web connection.
Regardless, it is going to be a while ahead of the casinos can in fact kick off their online gambling offerings. The regulations have to be finalized and casinos need to use for licensure and develop their gambling websites. What this means is the casinos will not be enjoying this new supply of revenue throughout the 2013 summer season, that could be Atlantic City’s toughest season ever following recovery from Hurricane Sandy.