New Jersey Takes Big Step Towards Legal Online Gaming

By Matt Kaufman, Rakeback.com Poker News Editor

Earlier this week, an online gambling bill passed in New Jersey’s Budget and Appropriations Committee by an 11-0 vote. The bill itself is interesting in that it would set up the possibility for New Jersey online gaming sites to service customers from other states or countries – assuming those places do not have anti-gaming regulations in place.

To become a law, the bill must next pass a full floor vote in the State Senate and receive approval from Governor Chris Christie. Although these two steps are of course not guaranteed to happen, most analysts agree that they are likely.

Atlantic City, New Jersey, is the 2nd largest live gambling destination in the United States after Las Vegas, Nevada. New Jersey is likely rushing its online gaming legislation in order to keep up with Nevada, which already has gaming laws in place and is expected to approve gaming licenses within the next few months.

It would appear that New Jersey’s efforts will probably be successful, and New Jersey is now very well positioned to become the 2nd state to legalize and license online gambling.