With New Jersey’s online gambling legislation already having Governor Chris Christie’s John Hancock on it, the state is gearing up and is ready to proceed with the new law’s implementation sooner than later.
But before that happens, a few amendments to the new Internet gaming bill are being made, particularly coming from Senator James Whelan (D-Atlantic), one of the key architects of New Jersey’s online gambling legislation and a former mayor of Atlantic City.
Recently, Whelan introduced a bill that would add modest amendments to the existing law, particularly as it pertains to the equipment that will be used by Atlantic City casinos to do its business. Suffice to say, Whelan’s amendment calls for these equipments to be located inside casinos, or “at a facility in Atlantic City, other than a casino, that is secure, inaccessible to the public, and specifically designed to house that equipment, and where the equipment must be under the complete control of the casino licensee or its Internet gaming affiliate.”
Whelan’s objective in filing this amendment is to ensure that the legislation doesn’t step on the state’s Constitution. While people would be allowed to play online games from all over the state, all of the bets coming from all corners of New Jersey had to be finalized by equipment that is located in Atlantic City, either in a casino or in the aforementioned secure and inaccessible to the public “facility in Atlantic City”.
Don’t expect a whole lot of opposition coming from other lawmakers with regards to Whelan’s new bill because it’s not going to drastically change the current text of the bill. It’s all about making sure that casinos understand what can and can’t be done while most are in the middle of preparations to determine the necessary adjustments that need to be made to accommodate the influx of infrastructure in their respective premises.
Legislature should approve it easily before Christie puts his signature on it, although that isn’t expected to happen until later in the year.
