The Revolving Door of Online Gambling Legislation in the US

I quite honestly cannot keep up with the different laws and legislations that are pending, being voted on and getting vetoed in US states these days.  When states realized that  no change was going to come about on a federal level and that they weren’t going to see an online gambling bill come into affect last year, they decided to make changes on a state level.  As such, New Jersey wasted no time in pushing through its own online gambling law until it reached the table of the Governor Chris Christie.

For several weeks now, I’ve been waiting – with the rest of my fellow online gamblers – to see whether Christie would have the courage to take his state to the forefront of gambling legislation and give the bill the final green light.  Unfortunately, tonight I was shocked to learn that the governor has vetoed the bill and send it back to the State Legislature with suggestions that the matter would best be resolved by national referendum.  I cannot tell you how frustrated I feel, and I can only sympathise with New Jerseyians who could almost touch a legal and regulated online gambling platform… only to have it taken away from them.

On a different note, Iowa seems to be making slow but steady steps towards its own intrastate online gambling system. The bill that will hopefully see this become a reality passed through to the Senate floor by a 9-6 vote and I’m holding thumbs that the whole process doesn’t come to nothing like New Jersey’s bill did.  The Iowa online gambling bill will allow state residents to play at regulated poker sites. Operators of these poker hubs would need to pay $3 million front for the right to run them, and the amount would be deducted from tax revenue in the long run. 

The great thing about these bills is that they have the potential to bring in serious money for cash-strapped states, battling with growing deficits. The Iowan bill, for example could bring in as much as $30 million a year in taxation and all it needs is a governor with a little vision to see how much of a difference it will make for the state.