1/21/2012
The drive to get the measure to allow Internet gaming on the desk of the governor hit an obstacle today as its main sponsor shied away from efforts to get the bill passed during the lame duck session.
State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, a Democrat from Union, in a statement this evening said, “Speaking with Governor Christie, I’ve agreed to reintroduce Internet gaming in the next legislative session, and I expect that we can get it through the Legislature and signed by the Governor within the first few weeks of the new session.”
The measure, S3019, was set to be heard by Assembly and Senate committees tomorrow and voted on in both houses’ full sessions on Monday.
But the Christie administration had a number of hang ups and legal questions about the bill, including whether the measure has to be presented to the voters as a constitutional amendment.
Lesniak said, “There are competing opinions on that within the administration and within the industry. But I am convinced that we can move forward and get it up and rolling without amending the constitution.”
The bill would give the state Casino Control Commission authority to issue licenses to casinos to run computer servers that are based in Atlantic City. Computer software would then have to determine whether the player is a resident of New Jersey, whether the game was being played in the state, and whether the player is of legal age.
