A pro-gambling legislator from New Jersey is planning to introduce a bill that would allow the state to share player pools with Nevada and Delaware as well as with regulated online gambling markets in and beyond the United States.
Sen. Raymond Lesniak told local media on Wednesday that he is yet to prepare his legislative piece and that once ready, it will aim to turn New Jersey into an online gambling mecca. The lawmaker shed a bit more light on his plan, revealing that he would try his best to make it possible for interested international gambling companies to be able to set their operations within the state’s borders and be able to service players from all around the world from within New Jersey.
In addition, he will propose a constitutional amendment to the current requirement that computer servers from which iGaming services are provided to local players are located in Atlantic City. Sen. Lesniak has previously considered proposing such an amendment, but has decided against it.
Under the yet-to-be-introduced bill, players from outside New Jersey will be able to play on the state’s iGaming websites as long as online gambling is legal in their jurisdictions. There will also have to be proper agreements made between the state and other interested regulated markets.
New Jersey regulated its online gambling market back in November 2013. The state has enjoyed a stable growth of the market over the past several years. For instance, licensed online gambling operators generated revenue of $196.7 million last year, reflecting a 32% increase from 2015.
iGaming has thus established itself as an important part of the state’s overall gambling industry and as a much-needed boost to land-based casinos. Atlantic City is currently recovering from a continued drop in casino revenue, which resulted in the closure of five gambling venues within two and a half years. According to regulators and lawmakers, Internet gaming has helped the city and the state in encouraging the industry’s revitalization.
Sen. Lesniak has been among the most prominent and persistent proponents of online gambling and any possible gambling expansion that could boost the state’s industry with additional revenue. The lawmaker was among first to speak against US Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ promise to revisit the nation’s iGaming laws.
AG Sessions said during his confirmation hearing back in January that he would initiate a careful study into a 2011 Department of Justice memo that practically gave individual states the authority to legalize online gaming services within their borders.
Sen. Lesniak has also been part of New Jersey’s sports betting legalization push for years now. As previously reported, the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear New Jersey’s case against a federal ban on the provision of sports betting services. Many found a silver lining in that decision and it is believed that the legalization of this type of service has never been closer to realization.
