Lesniak Bill to Accept Foreign Wagers Reintroduced in New Jersey Lesniak Bill to Accept Foreign Wagers Reintroduced in New Jersey
Aaron Brady, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License
Key Takeaways
  • New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak has amended and reintroduced a bill to the State assembly that would allow the licensing of operators to provide internet wagering “to persons located outside of New Jersey or the United States.”
  • Under the new bill, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement will be authorized to issue foreign Internet wagering permits to allow for the offering of internet gaming to other US states and foreign jurisdictions.
  • Such activity will only be allowed by New Jersey casinos and their affiliated internet gaming partners.

Updated 1/17/14 to represent the most recent version of the bill

New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak has amended and reintroduced a bill to the State assembly that would allow the licensing of operators to provide internet wagering “to persons located outside of New Jersey or the United States.”

Under the new bill, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement will be authorized to issue foreign Internet wagering permits to allow for the offering of internet gaming to other US states and foreign jurisdictions. Such activity will only be allowed by New Jersey casinos and their affiliated internet gaming partners.

In addition, interstate and foreign igaming will require “an interstate or foreign compact or agreement with an interstate or foreign jurisdiction in which Internet wagering on authorized games is lawful and regulated.”

The bill requires licensees to maintain their servers and also keep all records in within Atlantic City where they can be inspected by regulators.

Gaming revenues from foreign markets will be subject to the 15% tax and 2.5% contribution to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority mirroring the taxes paid on New Jersey online gaming revenue. Operators will be able to claim a tax credit in New Jersey for tax required to be paid in the foreign jurisdictions.

The amended bill allows for casino games and poker, but not for sports betting which may contravene US law.

Players’ accounts will need to show the total amount won or lost since the account was established, and give a “detailed accounting of all other Internet gaming sessions, when a session begins at log on and ends at log off, including time and date of log on and log off and the amount of money won or lost on gaming and the amount of money spent from the account on merchandise or services.”