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.
Casinos located in Atlantic City will have a way to utilize for a license to offer online gambling. Only the twelve official Atlantic City casinos will be eligible for the license. No other organizations can offer internet gambling, and face stiff fines should they do. All facilities useful for the operation of internet gambling must certanly be located within city limits; only bets which can be received by a server in Atlantic City will be legal.
Players must certanly be “physically present” in New Jersey to position wagers. In the future, 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 could be played online. (For comparison, Nevada only allows poker.) As of now, sports betting won’t be protected by this bill, although their state of New Jersey is trying 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 requiring the prominent display of the 1-800-GAMBLER hotline number, ways to set maximum bets and losses over a specific time period, and tracking player losses to recognize 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 be generated using this tax, เว็บมวย however many analysts think this number is seriously overestimated.
The official regulations, that your bill required the Division of Gaming Enforcement to create, were released on June 3, and are susceptible to a “public comment period” until August 2 before being finalized. These rules include details such as how a casino acquires the correct licenses and procedures for maintaining network security on gambling sites.
Revenues from Atlantic City casinos have now been on the decline for the past seven years, and online gambling could 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 can be enough to keep struggling casinos afloat and save jobs in Atlantic City. Further, although estimates of tax revenue are throughout the map, there’s prospect of online gambling to become a considerably valuable supply of money for the state. The casinos will also have to pay a tax to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, that’ll provide further help struggling casinos in Atlantic City.
For the player, low overhead costs mean better prizes and more opportunities to play. Casinos can incent players with free “chips” which 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.
One of many goals of the bill is supposedly to attract more people to see the brick-and-mortar casinos, but it’s hard to say if online gambling will in actuality lead to the outcome. You can speculate it may even cause people to go to the casinos less (However, this seems unlikely; the social element and the free drinks are lost in online gambling. Also, research suggests that, at the very least with poker, internet gaming does not reduce casino gaming.) Advertising for the host casino will be allowed on the internet gambling sites, which could possibly encourage people to see the casino but is also annoying for players.
Online gambling could be seriously devastating for those 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 surely be much harder to take off compulsive gamblers if they are able to place bets anywhere with a net connection.
Regardless, it will be described as a while ahead of the casinos can actually kick off their online gambling offerings. The regulations need to be finalized and casinos need to utilize for licensure and develop their gambling websites. This means the casinos won’t be enjoying this new supply of revenue during the 2013 summer season, which could be Atlantic City’s toughest season ever following recovery from Hurricane Sandy.