Fresh Online Gambling Effort For New Jersey

New Jersey missed out last year on becoming the very first state in America to regulate and therefore legalize online casino games and gambling. The fault here lies with Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, vetoed the bill passed by the Assembly and the state Senate. All is not yet lost however, as during this period of intervening no other state has yet legalized online gambling; New Jersey could still become the first.

Senator Ray Lesniak, the driving force behind the initiative in 2011, fully intends on taking advantage of the recent change of policy as announced by the US Department of Justice in recent weeks. This change of online gambling policy means that interstate online casino gambling is in fact completely legal. Mr Lesniak spoke to members of the press last week, claiming that he would focus strongly on having this bill passed through the legislative process, and that it would be on the desk of Governor Christ Christie as quickly as possible. “We can be the Silicon Valley of Internet gaming.” He continued. “It’s the wave of the future. It’s going to come and we can be in the lead on it.”

Lesniak had previously unveiled a new bill during the summer of 2011, directly addressing the concerns of Governor Christie. The bill in question features various fines including one for $1,000 per player per day for any person operating an illegal online wagering business, and a whopping $10,000 for advertising such online casinos. Those registering at these online casinos will have to be genuine residents of the state of New Jersey, and must be physically within the borders of the state in order to play online. The minimum age for gambling is to be 21 years, and it is the responsibility of the casino to enforce this.