New jersey legislature defends online gambling

On Friday New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a bill calling on the US President and Congress not to introduce federal prohibitions on online gambling.

Earlier this month the bill was passed by the New Jersey Legislature, with a motivation that a federal prohibition against internet gambling would negatively impact New Jersey, “dismantling the investments that the state and Atlantic City casinos have already made to implement and regulate Internet gaming.”

The bill warns that a federal prohibition would take away “economic and employment opportunities already realized” by the state and foreclose the future potential of the industry to “generate tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue, create high-tech software jobs, and foster valuable business ventures for Atlantic City casinos.”

New Jersey is one of three US states that have successfully legalised and regulated intrastate online gambling. The state began offering online gambling in November 2013, and state revenues (and the taxes flowing therefrom) have shown accelerating growth to become an important element in the business models of Atlantic City land operators, with almost $600 million in revenues since introduction.

Internet gambling revenues in Atlantic City were up 32 percent in 2016 compared with the preceding year, reaching $196.7 million.