Movement towards legalising online gambling in the United States is progressing slowly with just three states having so far passed the necessary legislation allowing intra state internet gambling. New Jersey is moving nearer to permitting online casino operators from outside the state to partner with a land based casino in New Jersey and then offer their services to players wherever internet gambling is legal. A bill recently proposed by Senator Ray Lesniak would allow interested online casino operators from overseas to operate from New Jersey once they were granted a licence from the state.Online gambling became legal in the state of New Jersey last November but again only when the internet casino operator links up with a local land based casino. Several well known New Jersey casinos such as the Borgata and the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino among others have formed partnerships to offer online gambling. Just as some equally well known online casino operators including Gibraltar based 888 Holdings and Betfair have shown interest in setting up operations from New Jersey.Having been passed by a senate panel Senator Ray Lesniak’s bill is now closer to becoming law and in response to its recent approval, the senator has claimed that New Jersey could become “the Silicon Valley for high tech gaming”. Senator Lesniak has previously declared that New Jersey could become a hub for online gaming and with his bill progressing this could be a major boost for Atlantic City’s gambling industry.
The tax income from licensed online casinos would be worth millions of dollars to the state whose Atlantic City land based casinos are struggling to increase revenue. The new online casino operations run by companies from outside the state would be subject to the 15% tax already payable on income from internet gambling. Although it is thought that there could be tax credits available to these operators who may have paid taxes in other jurisdictions.
Now, Bill S9890 just has to be fully accepted.
