Senator Lesniak Pushes the Ante in Support of Online Gambling in New Jersey

Senator Lesniak sounded off his upbeat optimism about the recent developments during a meeting with the AP news agency. Lesniak is committed to get the bill that seeks to establish a sweeping legalization of Internet gambling passed by the plenary and submit the same to Governor Chris Christie for approval as early as next week.

“Internet gambling is the wave of the modern times and it is essential that we are at the forefront and dictate the terms of its growth and development in the US,” explained Lesniak. “I envision New Jersey to become the “Silicon Valley” of online gambling. The Justice Department has already made clear its legal position that in-state bets are not in violation of any existing laws and regulations on gambling activities. This is something that is already upon us and the logical step is for us to make sure that we benefit from it.”

Senator Lesniak earlier initiated a legislative measure that aims to push New Jersey in the forefront in the field of online gaming. The bill which he authored won clear majorities in the House and the Senate and its implementation was only thwarted when Gov. Christie exercised his absolute veto option. This time around, Lesniak refused to make any comment on his options or courses of action in the event that his pending bill gets vetoed on the same grounds.

A reliable source in the US Senate admitted that it is not yet clear whether this proposed bill will get the same support from both houses so that it can move as quickly as Lesniak would have wanted it to. “The leadership in the Senate prefers to get the salient points of the proposed legislative measure before making any statement on their position,” the unnamed Senate source revealed.

Lesniak has explained that this new proposed bill that he authored has addressed the issues that were raised by Governor Christie, and these include the application of daily fines in the amount of $1,000 for each player for anyone who is caught operating an illicit online gambling business and an additional fine of $10,000 for any adverts related to the illegal online gambling business. Under the said bill, online bettors are required to be at least 21 years of age and residents of New Jersey. The proposed bill also requires online bettors to be physically staying in New Jersey at the time that they place their bets online.

To date, the proposed bill has not yet been calendared for a vote during the January 9 plenary, which is the last day of the current session of the legislature. “I am pulling all the stops to get the approval at the committee level so that it can be presented to the plenary before the end of the state legislative session,” Lesniak added.

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