S-490 making rapid progress
Barely two weeks after passing through the committee stage, a New Jersey State legislative proposal, S-490, goes to the Senate floor today (Monday), with the potential to make the State the first in the USA to legalise online gambling.
The bill proposes to legalise intrastate internet gambling in order to raise up to $ 350 million per year for State coffers and at the same time help remove the need for State subsidisation of New Jersey racecourses.
Senator Jim Whelan D-Atlantic, told local media that: "People in other states would not be able to participate in such gambling – federal interstate laws make it illegal.
"But with the revenue potential of online gambling, other states could soon follow New Jersey's lead. We're hoping to be the first state for this, but we won't be the last.
"The Internet is not a new phenomena, but it wasn't around in 1978. The Internet is the reality now, and this is a chance for us to adjust to that reality," Whelan said.