The clock is ticking, slowly, for the New Jersey legislature. The state faces a November deadline by which it must re-authorize online gambling, including online poker, as a legal and regulated activity.
While there's little doubt that the needed legislation will pass later this year, the applicable measures have been moving forward at a predictably slow pace. It's already been nine months. Senate Bill 3075 (S3075), was introduced last September, with matching bill A2190 also introduced in the New Jersey Assembly.
Despite the lack of opposition to the re-authorization, the Senate version of the bill has cleared only two committees over the interim. For seven of those nine months, S3075 languished in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee before being passed unanimously last week.
S3075 will extend the state's authorization of online gaming another decade, to late 2033. New Jersey initially authorized iGaming in 2013, joining Nevada (for online poker only) and Delaware in that regard. Since then a handful of states, concentrated largely in the Northeast, have also legalized online casino games, though the market's growth has been slower than initially predicted.
New Jersey's plans to support its Atlantic City casino market necessarily include the online re-authorization, since the state as a whole faces ever-increasing competition from nearby states.
S3075 co-sponsor Vince Polistina, whose district includes Atlantic City, noted the important fiscal contributions the online-gambling sector has created. "The legalization of online gambling and sports betting was a catalyst for struggling casinos in the aftermath of the Great Recession," said Polistina. "In places like Atlantic City, internet gaming has created a number of good-paying jobs for workers as well as generating millions of dollars in tax revenues for the state. This legislation would extend the authorization of online gaming services through 2033 to ensure stability in the gambling industry."
"Internet gaming has kept New Jersey at the forefront of an evolving gambling industry," Polistina added. "This extension supports the integral role that the internet plays in shaping the current and future success of casinos in New Jersey."
