New Jersey Online Gambling Legislation Postponed

Online gambling fans in the US state of New Jersey received some disappointing news earlier this week, when State Senator Raymond Lesniak (Dem) announced that he is postponing the introduction of his pro-online gambling measure S3019.

Designed to initiate the legalisation and regulation of intra-state online gaming for New Jersey online gambling fans, proponents of the highly popular internet activity had been eagerly awaiting for measure S3019 to be approved and passed into law.

Tried to Get S3019 Passed in March Last Year

However, following Lesniak's announcement, they'll now have to wait a little longer. Although the state senator attempted to get S3019 passed in March last year, Governor Chris Christie (Rep) vetoed it, claiming it did not sufficiently prohibit 'iGaming services' from being offered in New Jersey internet cafes and bars.

Then, when the US Department of Justice (DoJ) disclosed at the end of last month that the infamous Wire Act of 1961 only prevented intra-state sports betting, by implication letting lottery, casino, poker and bingo gaming off the hook, Lesniak saw an opportunity to reintroduce measure S3019.

While he initially intended to get his pro-online gambling legislation passed through the Assembly and Senate before Monday, January 9 - the last day of the current legislative session, he changed his mind. Hence announcing his intention to reintroduce internet gaming in the next legislative session, after first discussing its details with Governor Christie.

A statement from Lesniak read: 'I've agreed to reintroduce Internet gaming in the next legislative session and I expect that we can get it through the legislature and signed by the Governor within the first few weeks of the new session. I believe that Internet gaming has transformational potential for New Jersey's gaming industries.

New Jersey Can Take the Lead on Online Gambling

'I remain hopeful that New Jersey can take the lead on this exciting new direction for wagering, which would result in new revenues, new jobs and new economic activity in the Garden State, I recognise that the complex issues surrounding Internet wagering will take more time to iron out than we are afforded in the waning days of the current legislative session.'

New Jersey online gambling fans will certainly have taken delight in the following sentence: 'This isn't a question of if New Jersey gets Internet wagering, but when, and my money is on soon.'