S1565, a bill that would legalize online gambling in New Jersey, failed to advance through the legislature during the final voting session this week.
With legislators now focused to the state’s budgetary concerns, it will be another six weeks before Raymond Lesniak and Jim Wehlan, the bill’s sponsors, have a chance to push it through to a vote.
Earlier in the week, Seton Hall law professor John B. Wefing testified before a New Jersey Wagering and Tourism Committee on the topic of how internet gambling fits into the New Jersey state constitution which only allows gambling to take place in Atlantic City.
“There is no need to amend our constitution since casino gaming was authorized under it,” Wefing said according to CBS News. Wefing believes that as long as the servers handling the wagers for online gambling are located in Atlantic City, there is no conflict with state laws.
Governor Chris Christie’s staff is working with Senator Lesniak to craft the legislation in such a way to appease the Governor. Last year Christie vetoed an online gambling bill after it had been passed by state legislators.
However, following the US Department of Justice’s reinterpretation of the Wire Act, Christie was quoted as saying, “I think New Jersey should be in that business. I think we should be an epicenter for that business.”
