For better and for worse, online gambling is coming to New Jersey.
In late February, Chris Christie officially signed into law a bill that legalized internet gambling in Atlantic City.
Initially the bill was vetoed by the Governor because of issues surrounding transparency and taxes. Lawmakers adjusted the text and the amended bill passed by an overwhelming majority in the legislature and earned Christie’s seal of approval.
Listed below are the fundamentals of the bill:
– Casinos positioned in Atlantic City will have the ability to use for a license to supply online gambling. Only the twelve official Atlantic City casinos will soon be eligible for the license. No other organizations can provide internet gambling, and face stiff fines when they do. All facilities employed for the operation of internet gambling should be located within city limits; only bets which can be received with a server in Atlantic City will soon be legal.
– Players should be “physically present” in New Jersey to put wagers. Later on, New Jersey may develop agreements with other states where internet gambling is legal to permit out-of-state gambling. The casino’s equipment must verify players’ locations before accepting wagers.
– Any games offered to play in the casinos may be played online. (For comparison, Nevada only allows poker.) As of now, sports betting will not be protected by คาสิโนออนไลน์ this bill, although their state of New Jersey is attempting to fight the federal statute barring the legalization of sports betting.
– The bill has a myriad of provisions to keep gambling addiction from increasing, such as for example requiring the prominent display of the 1-800-GAMBLER hotline number, a way to set maximum bets and losses over a particular time frame, and tracking player losses to identify and limit users who may demonstrate addictive gambling behavior.
– Revenue from online gambling will carry a 15% tax. The Christie administration states that about $180 million in revenue for their state will soon be generated from this tax, however, many analysts think this number is seriously overestimated.
The official regulations, that your bill required the Division of Gaming Enforcement to produce, were released on June 3, and are at the mercy of a “public comment period” until August 2 before being finalized. These rules include details such as for example what sort of casino acquires the appropriate licenses and procedures for maintaining network security on gambling sites.
So, will online gambling actually benefit their state?
The Good
Revenues from Atlantic City casinos have already been on the decline for days gone by seven years, and online gambling might be what saves the failing casinos. Since 2006, casino revenue has dropped from $5.2 billion to around $3 billion. Online gambling could be a $500 million to $1 billion industry in New Jersey, which might be enough to keep struggling casinos afloat and save jobs in Atlantic City. Further, although estimates of tax revenue are all over the map, there is prospect of online gambling to be always a considerably valuable supply of money for the state. The casinos will also need to pay a tax to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which will provide further help struggling casinos in Atlantic City.
For the gamer, low overhead costs mean better prizes and more opportunities to play. Casinos can incent players with free “chips” that have minimal costs for them but give players more opportunities to play and win. The ease of gambling online allows players to play more with less travel.
BAD:
Among the goals of the bill is supposedly to attract more people to go to the brick-and-mortar casinos, but it’s hard to state if online gambling will in actuality lead to this outcome. One could speculate it might even cause people to visit the casinos less (However, this seems unlikely; the social element and the free drinks are lost in online gambling. Also, research shows that, at the very least with poker, internet gaming does not reduce casino gaming.) Advertising for the host casino will soon be allowed on the web gambling sites, which might encourage people to go to the casino but could also be annoying for players.
Online gambling might be seriously devastating for folks who have gambling addictions, or even cause people to develop them, raising financial and moral concerns. Even with all the current preventative steps the bill requires, it will definitely be much harder to stop compulsive gamblers if they can place bets anywhere with a web connection.
Regardless, it will be considered a while before the casinos can in fact start their online gambling offerings. The regulations need to be finalized and casinos need to use for licensure and develop their gambling websites. This implies the casinos will not be enjoying this new supply of revenue during the 2013 summer season, which may be Atlantic City’s toughest season ever following recovery from Hurricane Sandy.
