Yesterday saw New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stun the public by vetoing the bill to legalize online gambling in the state, a bill that had been passed by the Senate with a majority vote more than a month ago. This is bad news for New Jersey residents who were counting on the bill to enjoy gambling from the comforts of their living rooms and they will now have to wait for a minimum period of one year to get the same, that is if a similar bill due for next month doesn’t legalize it first. Christie’s last moment decision to veto the bill came after months of suspense as he declined to pass what would have been the first bill of its kind in the country. He cited constitutional and legal concerns as the main causes for his decision against the bill, reasons which critics claim he had already been aware of for more than a year.
Analysts have claimed that the state of New Jersey, which is under a monetary crunch at the moment, could have gained as much as $55 million from the legal internet gambling revenues with the proposed 23% taxation on all internet wagers. However, this wasn’t in favor of Christie’s aspirations of running for the president’s post in the next federal elections, say analysts, and he sidestepped from a job for the state for this more lucrative ambition.
Another bipartisan bill, which is currently being considered in the Congress, also proposes similar reforms which will allow the internet gambling services based outside the US to provide games such as Blackjack, Poker and so on over the internet in the country on payment of taxes. The proposal of this bill is due for April this year according to the publishers of Gaming Business, Roger Gros. He said that the bill is being proposed as a measure for law enforcement in the country as internet gambling businesses are already functional on a large scale and are running illicitly. And due to its law enforcement measure image, the bill has also won more support, especially from the Republicans, than it was expected to.
