http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/...lls+would+allow+NJ+residents+to+gamble+online
Package of bills would allow NJ residents to gamble online
By BOB JORDAN • STATEHOUSE BUREAU • December 16, 2010
TRENTON — A state Assembly committee on Thursday cleared the way for a full lower house vote on a package of gaming bills that would allow New Jersey residents to play casino games over the internet and would also create a tourism district for Atlantic City.
But the state's 11 casinos won't be the only winners, because the bills include money for horse racing purses, thanks to a 15 percent tax that would be slapped on internet gambling.
Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, said, "These measures represent yet another step forward in ensuring a strong Atlantic City, a healthy horse racing industry and a modern gaming industry for New Jersey."
There was no opposition to the bills in votes by the Assembly Budget Committee. Lawmakers from both parties have rallied around legislation that would prop up the racing industry since a senior policy adviser to Gov. Chris Christie, Jon F. Hanson, said the state should get out of the horse racing business.
The rally has led a private investor, Jeffrey R. Gural, to pursue negotiations on a lease to take over the state-owned Meadowlands Racetrack. A session of discussions about taking the track private is scheduled for Friday, Gural said.
Under the internet gambling bill, the equipment used to make the games available must be located either in a restricted area on the premises of a casino hotel or in a secure facility inaccessible to the public but within the territorial limits of Atlantic City.
That component will assure that a number of new good-paying jobs will be based in the state, said William Pascrell III, a lobbyist for the internet gaming industry.
"We believe it's a jobs-creation bill," Pascrell told the committee. "New Jersey would become the first state to do this and it will become the global mecca for online gaming."
Internet wagers would also carry the casino-standard 8 percent tax on gross revenues, making the total tax on such wagers 23 percent, with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority annually appropriating a percentage of the amount of that tax generated to the New Jersey Racing Commission to be used for the benefit of horse racing.
The proposed Atlantic City Tourism District would include a special police detail to patrol the boardwalk. The district would encompass the casinos, casino hotels, and other properties where the majority of ownership entities are engaged primarily in the tourism trade, officials said.
Bob Jordan: 609-984-4343; bjordan@njpressmedia.com
Package of bills would allow NJ residents to gamble online
By BOB JORDAN • STATEHOUSE BUREAU • December 16, 2010
TRENTON — A state Assembly committee on Thursday cleared the way for a full lower house vote on a package of gaming bills that would allow New Jersey residents to play casino games over the internet and would also create a tourism district for Atlantic City.
But the state's 11 casinos won't be the only winners, because the bills include money for horse racing purses, thanks to a 15 percent tax that would be slapped on internet gambling.
Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, said, "These measures represent yet another step forward in ensuring a strong Atlantic City, a healthy horse racing industry and a modern gaming industry for New Jersey."
There was no opposition to the bills in votes by the Assembly Budget Committee. Lawmakers from both parties have rallied around legislation that would prop up the racing industry since a senior policy adviser to Gov. Chris Christie, Jon F. Hanson, said the state should get out of the horse racing business.
The rally has led a private investor, Jeffrey R. Gural, to pursue negotiations on a lease to take over the state-owned Meadowlands Racetrack. A session of discussions about taking the track private is scheduled for Friday, Gural said.
Under the internet gambling bill, the equipment used to make the games available must be located either in a restricted area on the premises of a casino hotel or in a secure facility inaccessible to the public but within the territorial limits of Atlantic City.
That component will assure that a number of new good-paying jobs will be based in the state, said William Pascrell III, a lobbyist for the internet gaming industry.
"We believe it's a jobs-creation bill," Pascrell told the committee. "New Jersey would become the first state to do this and it will become the global mecca for online gaming."
Internet wagers would also carry the casino-standard 8 percent tax on gross revenues, making the total tax on such wagers 23 percent, with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority annually appropriating a percentage of the amount of that tax generated to the New Jersey Racing Commission to be used for the benefit of horse racing.
The proposed Atlantic City Tourism District would include a special police detail to patrol the boardwalk. The district would encompass the casinos, casino hotels, and other properties where the majority of ownership entities are engaged primarily in the tourism trade, officials said.
Bob Jordan: 609-984-4343; bjordan@njpressmedia.com
