- New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak plans to announce “a major new initiative to expand Internet gaming.”
- It is believed that he will introduce a bill to allow New Jersey licensed operators to accept foreign gamblers from other regulated jurisdictions.
New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak will be holding a press conference on Thursday, November 21, to announce “a major new initiative to expand Internet gaming.”
No further details on the initiative have been made public. However, reportedly he will introduce a bill to allow New Jersey to issue licenses to companies to operate online gaming in non-US jurisdictions.
According to a report on EGR North America Tuesday, his plans would create “Restricted Foreign Internet Wagering” (RFIW) permits, which would allow operators to accept customers from any foreign country where it is legal for players to play on overseas gambling sites.
Though not explicit in the report, the implication is that operators who obtain both New Jersey licenses and the new RFIW would be permitted to share player liquidity.
Lesniak is quoted as saying, “Just as egaming operators are applying licenses to offer internet gaming in New Jersey, they could apply for an international license to offer gambling outside the United States.”
He is paraphrased as stating that the bill would “dramatically increase New Jersey’s player pool.” However, the RFIW alone would not allow operators to operate in New Jersey, or any other state in the US.
The licenses would be priced at around $200k with an annual $100k renewal fee, according to the report. Tax on foreign players would be levied at 10%, with plans to offer a tax credit against taxes paid to other regulated jurisdictions in which gaming operations occur.
The Democratic senator sponsored the New Jersey legislation that has led to the introduction of state regulated online gaming scheduled to begin on November 26.
The press conference is scheduled on the same day that the online gaming soft-launch will begin for authorized operators.
