For better or for worse, online wagering is coming to New jersey.
In late February, John Christie basically signed into law a bill that legalized internet wagering in Atlantic City.
Initially the bill was vetoed by the พนันออนไลน์ 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.
Here are the basics of the bill:
- Casinos located in Atlantic City will be able to apply for a driver’s license to offer online wagering. Only the twelve official Atlantic City casinos will be eligible for the driver’s license. No other organizations can offer internet wagering, and face stiff fines if they do. All facilities used for the operation of internet wagering must be located within city limits; only gamble that are received by a server in Atlantic City will be legal.
- Players must be “physically present” in New jersey to place wagers. In the future, New jersey may develop agreements with other states where internet wagering is legal to permit out-of-state wagering. The casino’s equipment must verify players’ locations before accepting wagers.
- Any games available to play in the casinos can be played online. (For comparison, Nevada only allows poker. ) As of now, sports gambling will not be protected by this bill, although the state of New jersey is trying to fight the federal statute unless the legalization of sports gambling.
- The bill has all kinds of conditions to keep wagering addiction from increasing, such as requiring the prominent display of the 1-800-GAMBLER hotline number, a way to set maximum gamble and losses over a certain period of time, and tracking player losses to identify and limit users who may demonstrate habit forming wagering behavior.
- Revenue from online wagering will carry a 15% tax. The Christie administration states that about $180 million in revenue for the state will be generated from this tax, but some analysts think this number is seriously overestimated.
The official regulations, which the bill required the Division of Gaming Enforcement to produce, were released on June 3, and are be subject to a “public comment period” until August 2 before being finished. These rules include details such as how a casino gets the appropriate the required permits and procedures for maintaining network security on wagering sites.
So, will online wagering actually benefit the state?
The good
Revenues from Atlantic City casinos have been on the decline for the past seven years, and online wagering could be what saves the failing casinos. Since 2006, casino revenue has dropped from $5. 2 thousand to around $3 thousand. Online wagering could be a $500 million to $1 thousand industry in New jersey, which may be enough to keep struggling casinos afloat and save jobs in Atlantic City. Further, even though estimates of tax revenue are all over the map, there is potential for online wagering to be a considerably valuable source of money for the state. The casinos will also have to pay a tax to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which will provide further assist with struggling casinos in Atlantic City.
For the player, low over head 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 convenience of wagering online allows players to play more with less travel.
BAD:
One of the goals of the bill is apparently to attract more people to visit the brick-and-mortar casinos, but it is hard to say if online wagering will actually lead to this outcome. You are able to speculate it could even cause people to go to the casinos less (However, this seems unlikely; the social element and the free drinks are lost in online wagering. Also, research indicates that, at least with poker, internet gaming does not reduce casino gaming. ) Advertising for the host casino will be allowed on the online wagering sites, which could possibly encourage people to visit the casino but could also be annoying for players.
Online wagering could be seriously devastating for individuals that have wagering addictions, or even cause people to develop them, raising financial and meaning concerns. Even with all the deterrent steps the bill requires, it will definitely be much harder to cut off compulsive gamblers if they can place gamble anywhere with an internet connection.