On Monday, officials from the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) participated in a hearing of the New Jersey Senate Gaming and Tourism Committee. Taking center stage was whether to legalize online sports betting and internet gambling.
Earlier this month, New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak introduced a bill that would legalize and regulate intrastate internet gambling. Online poker is specifically mentioned in the bill’s text, eliminating any ambiguity as to whether the age-old pastime would be permissible. Lesniak has also introduced a separate measure calling for a referendum to permit sports betting.
On the hearing, iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily, “It went pretty well. It leaned more to the sports betting piece, but I think that was due to the timing with the Super Bowl. I spent the rest of the day talking with Republican and Democratic legislators about the intrastate internet gambling bill.” Super Bowl XLIV kicks off on Sunday from Miami.
On Monday, the same Senate Committee will meet to discuss the internet gambling and sports wagering measures and potentially approve one or both of them. As part of Lesniak’s bill, licensed internet gambling outfits in New Jersey are taxed at a rate of 20%. The initial licensing fee is at least $200,000, while an annual renewal fee would be at least $100,000. In addition, a $100,000 yearly fee is charged to online operators to address compulsive gambling. Comparatively, brick-and-mortar casinos are taxed at an 8% rate.
As New Jersey debates the merits of expanded internet gambling, Delaware lawmakers recently approved the introduction of table games in its casinos. Now, poker, blackjack, and other favorites will become commonplace in the state’s gaming establishments. Meanwhile, a news release on Tuesday noted that slot machine revenue in Pennsylvania has mushroomed by 39% in January. Consequently, pressure is mounting on lawmakers in New Jersey to act.
Brennan explained, “Their interest seems to be that they have to do something grave due to the regional pressures. If gaming dollars are going to be a significant source of revenue, then they have to find a way to reverse the trend.” New Jersey gambling “win” dipped 13.2% during the 2009 calendar year compared to 2008. All told, Atlantic City casinos raked in $3.9 billion. In December 2009, revenues tumbled 9.8% year over year to $272.1 million.
Brennan noted that hot topics discussed during this week’s hearing included the legality of internet gambling and sports betting in the United States, why New Jersey should adopt casino-based online gambling, how to mitigate the effects of problem gambling, and why one of the megaliths in the industry, Harrah’s, opposes both bills.
Brennan explained that Harrah’s officials stressed the importance of receiving direction on internet gambling from federal lawmakers before acting on either of Lesniak’s measures. Also testifying were representatives from New Jersey’s horse racing industry. It’s not clear whether iMEGA officials will present during Monday’s Gaming and Tourism Committee follow-up hearing.
iMEGA has been one of the leading organizations on the ground in Kentucky, acting on behalf of 141 internet gambling domain names that were seized by the state’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet in September 2008. Oral arguments in the case were presented to the Kentucky Supreme Court in October. No decision was passed down in January and the next time the court could rule is March.
Organizations including the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Center for Democracy and Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Internet Commerce Association, eBay, and Network Solutions submitted amicus briefs in the Kentucky case. The squabble centers on whether domain names, which are located in the depths of cyberspace, can be seized as “gambling devices” under Kentucky state law. The two-word phrase traditionally refers to material objects like slot machines and dice that you’d find in an underground casino.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest poker legislation headlines.
how long do we have to wait..? it’s 2010, common..