Online Gambling for Ocean Locale
For better and for worse, online gambling is arriving at New Jersey.
In late February, Chris Christie officially signed into law a bill that legalized internet gambling in Atlantic City.
Initially the bill was vetoed by the Governor due to issues surrounding transparency and taxes. Lawmakers adjusted the text and the amended bill passed by an overwhelming majority in the legislature and earned Christie’s seal of approval.
Listed here are the basic principles of the bill:
– Casinos positioned in Atlantic City will have a way to use for a license to supply online gambling. Only the twelve official Atlantic City casinos is going to be eligible for the license. No other organizations can offer internet gambling, and face stiff fines if they do. All facilities employed for the operation of internet gambling must certanly be located within city limits; only bets which are received by a server in Atlantic City is going to be legal.
– Players must certanly be “physically present” in New Jersey to position wagers. In the foreseeable future, New Jersey may develop agreements with other states where internet gambling is legal to permit out-of-state gambling. The casino’s equipment must verify players’ locations before accepting wagers.
– Any games open to play in the casinos could be played online. (For comparison, Nevada only allows poker.) As of now, sports betting will not be protected by this bill, although their state of New Jersey is wanting to fight the federal statute barring the legalization of sports betting.
– The bill has all kinds of provisions to help keep gambling addiction from increasing, such as requiring the prominent display of the 1-800- คาสิโนออนไลน์ GAMBLER hotline number, ways to set maximum bets and losses over a specific time period, and tracking player losses to recognize and limit users who may demonstrate addictive gambling behavior.
– Revenue from online gambling will carry a 15% tax. The Christie administration states that about $180 million in revenue for their state is going to be generated using this tax, however many analysts think this number is seriously overestimated.
The official regulations, which the bill required the Division of Gaming Enforcement to create, were released on June 3, and are at the mercy of a “public comment period” until August 2 before being finalized. These rules include details such as how a casino acquires the correct licenses and procedures for maintaining network security on gambling sites.
So, will online gambling actually benefit their state?
The Good
Revenues from Atlantic City casinos have been on the decline for the past seven years, and online gambling might be what saves the failing casinos. Since 2006, casino revenue has dropped from $5.2 billion to around $3 billion. Online gambling could be a $500 million to $1 billion industry in New Jersey, which can be enough to help keep struggling casinos afloat and save jobs in Atlantic City. Further, even though estimates of tax revenue are all over the map, there’s possibility of online gambling to be a considerably valuable source of money for the state. The casinos will also need to pay a tax to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, that will provide further help struggling casinos in Atlantic City.
For the player, low overhead costs mean better prizes and more opportunities to play. Casinos can incent players with free “chips” which have minimal costs for them but give players more opportunities to play and win. The convenience of gambling online allows players to play more with less travel.
BAD:
One of the goals of the bill is supposedly to attract more people to visit the brick-and-mortar casinos, but it’s hard to state if online gambling will in actuality lead to the outcome. One could speculate it might even cause people to go to the casinos less (However, this seems unlikely; the social element and the free drinks are lost in online gambling. Also, research suggests that, at the least with poker, internet gaming does not reduce casino gaming.) Advertising for the host casino is going to be allowed on the online gambling sites, which could possibly encourage people to visit the casino but could also be annoying for players.
Online gambling might be seriously devastating for folks who have gambling addictions, or even cause people to produce them, raising financial and moral concerns. Even with all the preventative steps the bill requires, it will certainly be much harder to take off compulsive gamblers if they could place bets anywhere with an internet connection.
Regardless, it is going to be a while before the casinos can kick off their online gambling offerings. The regulations must be finalized and casinos need to use for licensure and develop their gambling websites. This implies the casinos will not be enjoying this new source of revenue through the 2013 summer season, which may be Atlantic City’s toughest season ever following recovery from Hurricane Sandy.