Online gambling will be left stewing in New Jersey for a while longer as it’s believed a decision will be held off for at least a week longer than next Thursday.
Governor Chris Christie is expected to make his mind up on intrastate online gambling when the state’s legislature reassembles on Thursday March 3, a week after the 45-day period runs out in which the bill was scheduled to be signed.
After being heavily flouted as the next Republican presidential candidate the decision is one that Christie won’t be taking lightly and the delay will undoubtedly mean a final concerted lobbying effort by iMEGA and Caesars.
Joe Brennan Jr, president of iMEGA, seemed confident when it would still go through but told eGaming Review that “no one’s going to argue with the Governor if he wants another week because legislature is in recess”.
The news comes after widespread rumors that Christie was to deny the passage of the bill and some may see the delay as even more of a sign that the Governor is in fact having second thoughts.
Earlier today we reported that New Jersey’s citizens don’t seem to want the jobs and money that online gambling would undoubtedly bring the state, so could this be the end of the bill that was supposed to herald a new frontier for online gambling in North America?
Joe Brennan, Senator Lesniak, and iMEGA can do all the lobbying they like and tell the legislature until they’re blue in the face about the money and jobs it may bring. If they aren’t going to pass the bill, it’s not likely they’ll change their minds.
For now, though we wait…we wait until the LeBron-esque Decision special on NJN that is.
