After ‘Black Friday’ in 2011 put pay to many online casinos operations, there has been a huge and dramatic turn of events in the USA for online gambling. Many establishments were caught up in the fraudulent activities, leading them to be taken offline and for huge numbers of people to lose all confidence in the online system. However, as casinos around the world begin to revive their table game options, New Jersey has revealed that it is once again going to push its efforts to legalize online gambling.
New Jersey Renews Online Gambling Attempts
In 2011, New Jersey was set to be one of the first US states to regulate and legalize online gambling after the Senate and the Assembly agreed and passed an appropriate bill. However, Governor Chris Christie stepped in and vetoed the bill, stopping the legalization process in its tracks. New Jersey seems not to have lost its enthusiasm for the bill though, and officials from the state are still looking for ways in which they can allow residents to access online gambling facilities.
DoJ Change of Policy
One of 2011’s key persons on pushing through the bill, Senator Ray Lesniak, revealed that a new change in the US Department of Justice (DoJ) gambling policy means that there may be certain advantages which can be taken. The change means that the law will not be broken via intrastate online casino gambling, offering individual states the chance to begin their own gambling practices. And, with no time to waste, Senator Lesniak has revealed that he intends to get a bill in front of Governor Christie within the next few weeks.
Lesniak’s Bill
Senator Lesniak’s bill was first introduced during August 2011 after Governor Christie raised concerns over online gambling. New additions were created, including a $1,000 fine per player per day for individuals who were found to be using online gambling operations which were illegal. An additional $10,000 fine was applicable for advertising of such operations. Meanwhile, the only people able to utilize the New Jersey online gambling websites would have to be state residents, over 21 years old and physically within the boundaries of the state to be able to actually place wagers at online casinos. The carefully developed bill is expected to find support in all areas, with a number of steps to ensure that customer and casino safety is kept. Online gambling licensees would have to pay $20m a year for the first three years to subsidize the horse racing tracks, whilst $100,000 of revenue would fund compulsive gambling programs. Revenues would also see tax increased from the 8per cent on land casino revenue, to 10per cent, whilst players would be able to set limits on maximum bets or losses over a certain time to help minimize problem gamblers. With the bill set to be voted upon during January there is no clear indication whether Governor Christie will accept the bill, but New Jersey are hoping that they can become one of the first states to offer legalized online gambling.
New Table Games for Omni Casino
Whilst bills and legislation processes continue to rumble in the US as state’s try and push measures to legalize online gambling, Omni Casino has revealed that it is to bring back a number of popular table games. After Black Friday, table games in particular suffered online, with popular land casino games such as poker disappearing from online venues. However, Omni Casino has sought to correct this, revealing that it was bring back Let-Them-Ride, Casino War and Three-Card Poker.