At some point tomorrow we should know whether it’s time to buy that Governor Christie a beer or if the next Comic Timing will be a humorous cheap shot at the man that could save the New Jersey casino industry.
A story being carried by the Wall Street Journal looks at what passing the bill may mean and correctly points out that it’s likely to herald a new era of intra-state gambling across the country.
In recent days we’ve seen chatter emanating from discussions over gambling regulation in Iowa, and Florida, all waiting to see what occurs in Jersey this coming Thursday.
An expert in Internet gaming law, and already quoted on this site in the past, Anthony Cabot, explained that once one state took the plunge, “you will see other states go ‘aha.’ It will spread very rapidly,” describing the domino effect the bill could have.
Nick Iarossi, a gambling lobbyist in Florida, added, “I think you’re seeing a shift in focus because the thought process is that if several large states legalize, that will put pressure on the feds to act.”
It also goes on to support the view of Calvin Ayre and other experts that the law isn’t going to change at federal level, intra-state the way that the industry is going.
There’s probably not much anyone could have done to change Christie’s mind over the past few months and it wouldn’t surprise anyone were he to veto the bill and the online gambling roadshow would simply move on to another state. Most of the comfort being taken by supporters of the bill is that if he was going to veto it, why didn’t the guv’nor do so earlier?
Probably just playing an elaborate prank on everyone!
