With so many opinions being tossed around with respect to what is actually happening in the US online gambling market, it’s always refreshing to see an opinion from someone who knows exactly what they are talking about, someone who is able to makes sense of all the nonsense. Nelson Rose, we salute you.
Professor Nelson Rose’s blog Gambling and the Law is an excellent resource for those looking to make sense of what is happening in the constantly shifting US market, particularly in the Garden State of New Jersey.
As we here at Calvinayre.com contended from the very beginning, the NJ gambling bill failed and was doomed to fail because Governor Christie didn’t want to risk his political career by signing it. Professor Nelson Rose argues the same point in his blog.
Quoting directly from his article Gov. Christie Vetoes N.J. Internet Gambling Bill, Nelson writes “…the real reason Christie vetoed the bill, and the reason it took him so long to discover these legal problems, is that he was weighing what to do politically. He wants to run for President, although he is probably smart enough not to try and take on Obama in 2012, especially with such a short track record as Governor. But to win the Republican nomination today means winning over the extreme conservatives of the “tea party.”
Nelson goes on to hammer home his point on how Governor Christies motivations determined his eventual decision to veto the bill.
Nelson writes, “Christie is from a “blue” state, and will already be pictured by his Republican opponents as the governor of Atlantic City. I thought he would let the Internet gambling bill become law without his signature, and then blame it on the Democratically controlled State Legislature. But, after thinking about that for two months, he decided it would be even better to let the voters of New Jersey force him to accept Internet gambling. Then, when he runs for Vice President or President, the state will have gotten all that money, to help balance the budget. The fact that it meant being the first state to introduce casino gambling into the home would not have been his fault. Blame the voters.”
The sad thing about it is the New Jersey bill may have never had a real chance. Even if it went to a vote, polls have shown that it would have been shot down there too.
