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Decision on NJ Online Gambling Bill Postponed

Posted on February 24th, 2011

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The tide has turned yet again for the proposed online gambling bill in New Jersey. Recent reports indicate that the governor’s decision on New Jersey’s online gambling bill has been rescheduled to March 3, 2011. Originally the decision is supposedly be due this week, however, changes have been made which caused the extension of the deadline for the governor’s decision. The bill, if passed into law, will legalize online gambling in Atlantic City, which will be available to everyone living in New Jersey. The bill will empower existing casinos to offer online versions of their casinos.

the state assembly passed the bill with ease and with almost no opposition from the congregation last month. Normally, proposals or bills will be under the Governor’s review for about a month and a half and they must be acted upon otherwise they become law by default. A rule requires that bills that have been passed by the House and the Senate will automatically become law after 45 days have passed without having been acted upon by the governor. Juliet Fletcher in a press conference in Atlantic City said that the legislature has decided to extend the deadline on the bill. This means that the governor does not have to decide on the bill until the legislative body resumes sessions on March 3, 2011.

The governor has several options available to him in dealing with the bill. First, he can veto it. A veto would cause the bill to be returned to the legislature for another vote, this time with a higher required percentage, which would serve to override the veto. The governor could also pass the bill into law. When this happens, the bill will now become law and no other act will gravitate against it being thus except if other laws that repeal the bill will be enacted. The governor could also return the bill to the legislature for amendments. In this case, if there are provisions that he wants to add or remove from the bill, he will ask the legislature to do so with the added promise that the bill will be passed if the necessary changes are made. All these options have several repercussions that the governor seeks to avoid. Governor Chris Christie is essentially in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.

The New York Post flashed a story last week that the Governor was seriously considering to veto the bill with legislators not prepared to secure the required number of votes to override any veto from the Governor. The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, a lobbying group, said through Joe Brennan, the group’s CEO “We’ve spent 90 percent of our efforts working with lawmakers. The governor looks to be using all of the time available to study the legal issues, the job-creation issues, economic-development issues and how this fits into his plans to revitalize Atlantic City.”. The group maintains that the believe that the governor will eventually sign the bill.

A poll initiated by Fairleigh Dickinson University revealed that the online gambling bill may not have the support of the state’s entire constituents. The same poll shows only a small percentage from those surveyed to be in favor of online gambling in the state. However, casino operators have expressed their optimism that the will sign the bill into law. According to them, the bill brings in too much benefits to the state. With the ailing local economy and an underperforming casino industry in Atlantic City, there is not much choice the governor could take. The said that even though the bill may not be signed on March 3, they are still convinced that an amended version of the bill will eventually find its way to the governor’s office eventually.

The lawmakers have been scrambling to convince the opposing camps to side with the bill, in a bid to secure the necessary votes needed to overturn the governor’s veto if he chooses that option. According to them, there is little time to amend the bill as this would waste the legislature’s time, which could be better spent on other pressing issues. Regardless of their stances, lawmakers, casino operators, industry analysts and residents of the state have marked their calendars for the much-awaited decision on this groundbreaking legislation.