Delaware's State Senate has passed a bill that will authorize intrastate online gambling in the state, Pokerfuse reports.

The bill, named House Bill 333, will pave the way for several forms of online gambling, including online poker, for the state's citizens.

The bill was passed yesterday by a vote of 14-6, effectively clearing the Senate with the three-fifths majority needed to pass.

Now on the Governor's desk to be signed into law, House Bill 333 will make Delaware the second U.S. state to formally authorize online gambling, following the example of Nevada, where legislation was passed in December last year.

Delaware will in this way likely beat similar attempts to authorize legal online gambling in New Jersey, where a bill is still under treatment.

New Jersey legislators and sponsors of the bill have expressed careful optimism that the bill will make it into law, arguing that the state's struggling Atlantic City casino industry will benefit from the change in legislation.

Meanwhile, Nevada continues on track with the state's plans to introduce legal intrastate poker within the next six months.

A legal framework is already in place in the Desert State, and the first recommendations for applicants have been handed out by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

A test phase now follow in a number of independent igaming labs before the final licenses can be handed out and the new intrastate gambling market can be launched in full.