Senator Ray Lesniak of New Jersey has built a legacy for being one of the most fervent poker supporters to date and while his retirement is nigh, he is not leaving quietly. The lawmaker recently introduced a bill to the state Legislature that if passed will give locally licensed online casino operators the liberty of accepting international gamblers even from countries where it is illegal to gamble online. New Jersey lawmakers have often considered the possibilities of splitting online gaming and online poker liquidity with international operators but there was not enough support for the legislation at the time. However, Senator Lesniak’s revitalized endeavor into the matter seems promising enough to initiate international partnerships which he believes are critical components for further development of the already thriving New Jersey online gambling industry.
With only a month to go until he retires, Senator Lesniak has expressed his intention to better the online gambling scene in New Jersey saying, “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.”
The bill introduces greatly significant amendments to New Jersey’s current online gambling laws for both online poker and other and other online casino games. One of the key laws that Lesniak’s bill aims to change dictates that all online gambling servers must be within Atlantic City which is also the only location where land-based casinos are allowed to operate in. The bill offers divergent opinions regarding these restrictions by stating that:
“In the coming years, the global online gambling market is expected to see a compound annual growth rate, and the largest share of online gambling revenue comes from Europe totaling nearly $15 billion a year and growing at a faster rate than the rest of the world.”
Furthermore, it further delineates on the statistics associated with how online gambling has been beneficial to state while still presenting viable options that allow for reasonable compromises:
“The division may permit Internet gaming equipment to be located outside of the territorial boundaries of Atlantic City if the division deems it necessary to facilitate the conduct of international wagering permitted under this section.”
Lesniak has a number of reasons to be confident about the possibility of the bill being passed before he retires – one of them being the recent interstate liquidity agreement that was signed recently and has since portrayed the state to be pro-online gambling. Furthermore, recent revenue numbers from within the state have shown stupendous growth for the online gambling industry which, therefore, implies promising results and great expansion potential. All these factors add more points to the likelihood that the legislature in New Jersey will pass Lesniak’s bill.
