New Jersey’s online gaming bill advanced out of Senate Committee by a 3-0 vote yesterday, but it now faces opposition from horse racing groups after an earlier funding commitment was removed.
Governor Chris Christie last year vetoed an earlier version of the bill citing concerns over its potential to expand gambling outside of Atlantic City in breach of the state constitution, including a clause dedicating a share of the spoils to supporting the Garden State’s ailing horse racing industry.
This component was however absent from yesterday’s bill considered by the Senate Government and Wagering Committee, introduced by sponsors Senator Ray Lesniak and Senator Jim Whelan, the latter representing the US state’s casino district of Atlantic County.
Horse racing groups including the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey subsquently refused to support the bill in its current form, arguing that introducing wagering on online poker and other casino games in the state would cannibalise spend on horse race betting.
While this was not enough to prevent the bill passing out of committee by a 3-0 vote with two abstentions, racing industry lobbyist Barbara DeMarco, representing Freehold Raceway and Atlantic City Race Course, hinted at possible legal action, being quoted by local newspaper the Daily Record as saying that “undoubtedly the racing industry will push to have a constitutional amendment.” The New Jersey constitution currently only allows betting on horse racing and lottery to take place outside of Atlantic County.
DeMarco drew an angry response from Whelan, who told the Committee that the potential delay presented by legal action and voter referendum on the issue, as was held for proposed sports betting legislation last November, could derail the Garden State’s bid to be the first state in the US to offer regulated intrastate online gaming.
“I feel like I’m being blackmailed,” Whelan was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “I‘m open to discussion but I don’t like a gun being put to my head and being told, ‘You will do this or else we will blow this whole thing up.’”
New Jersey joins California, Iowa and Mississippi, among other US states, in considering enabling legislation for online gambling. Around half of US states are now understood to be looking seriously at selling lottery tickets online and/or introducing intrastate online gambling laws following the Department of Justice (DoJ) issuing its opinion in December that only online sports betting was illegal under the 1961 Wire Act.
Bet365 offers the widest selection of Playtech casino games available today. Find out more on our Bet365 review page.
Image by Lisa Andres used under a Creative Commons 2.0 licence.
