The state of New Jersey might see a second chance soon to launch its own online gambling sites for state residents, with New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak hoping to have an online gambling bill on the desk of Governor Christie before the current legislative session ends on January 9.
The New Jersey legislature approved a similar online gambling bill in 2011 but it was vetoed by Christie at the last minute due to reservations about how online gambling would be implemented and the impact it might have on existing casinos and racetracks in New Jersey.
The newest version of the bill addresses some of those concerns but is very similar to the original bill, laying out the framework for New Jersey to offer intra-state online poker and casino sites - a measure that was considered by several other US states in 2011 and adopted by the District of Columbia (but not yet implemented).
A recent clarification of the Wire Act by the US Department of Justice - which ruled that the Wire Act only applies to sporting events and not online lotteries or other games - has caused some states to take a closer look at online gambling.
"We can be the Silicon Valley of Internet gaming," Lesniak told the Associated Press in a recent interview. "It's the wave of the future. It's going to come and we can be in the lead on it."
A second attempt at online gambling in New Jersey could have a different result, as revenues at Atlantic City casinos continue to slide and the state's horseracing industry has struggled dramatically in recent years. Tax revenues from online gambling could be used in New Jersey to prop up both industries and enable casinos in the state to potentially cash in on online gambling as well.
Other US states have pushed ahead with their own initiatives, including Nevada which in December approved online gaming regulations that paves the way for online sites to open there as early as 2012.
