New Jersey State Senator Seeks to Expand Online Gambling Operations
Published August 10, 2017 by Elana K
State Senator Ray Lesniak dreams of turning New Jersey into an international gambling mecca. And his new bill seeks to do just that.
New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak announced last week that he is planning to introduce a bill that would open up the state’s online casino and poker sites to a national and international audience.
Lesniak’s Grand Vision
Lesniak has big dreams for New Jersey, and envisions turning the state into an international gambling mecca. He said:
I’ve changed my mission from making New Jersey the Silicon Valley of Internet gaming to the mecca of Internet gaming. Online gaming has helped Atlantic City to revive its casino sector with a success that we can expand in ways that will generate more revenue, create jobs and fuel technological innovation in gaming.
Appealing to International iGaming Regulators
According to New Jersey law, iGaming servers must be located in Atlantic City. The director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, David Rebuck, admitted that when the state had tried to negotiate online poker liquidity with UK regulators last year, talks had broken down because the regulators didn’t want to relocate their servers to Atlantic City. Lesniak's bill directly addresses this issue and allows for servers to be located outside of Atlantic City.
Online Poker Needs Some Help
In addition to Lesniak’s grand vision, there is a more practical push behind his new bill - online poker is Aan all-time low (even though New Jersey online gambling as a whole has had a great year). Opening up New Jersey’s player pool to Nevada and other countries that regulate online gambling could lead to a boost in revenue and an entire expansion of online poker operations.
And of course, if any other US states take the plunge and legalize online gambling and poker, New Jersey would open up its doors to them as well.A
For now, however, there is a long way to go from the introduction of a bill to it actually being passed into law.
