New Jersey on-line gambling and poker networks could be permitted to welcome international players in markets where web casinos are legal should a recently introduced bill one day become law.
State Senator Ray Lesniak (D-District 20) introduced Senate Bill 3536 on the final day in November. The legislation would remove the physical requirement that players should be within New Jersey’s borders to access the internet gambling platforms.
Lesniak believes tapping into foreign player pools, specifically within the UK and Europe exactly where the practice is widespread, is critical in keeping New Jersey’s iGaming marketplace robust. On-line gambling is playing a substantial function within the revitalization, or in the extremely least stabilization, of Atlantic City. Web gaming win is up 27 % in 2017 through October.
“Internet gaming has resulted in economic advantages to Atlantic City and to this State, and is estimated to have created, inside the initial 3 years of implementation, approximately $998 million in financial output, over three,000 jobs, $219 million in employee wages, and $124 million in tax revenues,” Lesniak writes in his bill.
“In the coming years, the international online gambling marketplace is anticipated to determine a compound annual development rate, and the biggest share of online gambling revenue comes from Europe totaling almost $15 billion a year and expanding at a quicker price than the rest from the world.” Lesniak concluded by saying international wagering “would increase the financial benefit of internet gaming to Atlantic City.”
Ray Lesniak is one of Atlantic City’s strongest allies, and was the original author from the Garden State’s iGaming law. Senate Bill 3536 has been referred to the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Prevention Committee.
Lesniak’s legislation would also rid the state’s requirement that internet gaming equipment be physically located in Atlantic City. That change would allow casino operators to place gaming systems overseas to better regulate their customers should the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) deem it necessary to facilitate the conduct of international wagering.
In addition to making sure only legal adults and those within the confines of legalized iGaming markets can access the games, another concern is how New Jersey might tax such income generated in foreign lands. The UK, which separated from the European Union in its 2016 Brexit vote, requires European iGaming operators to pay a 15 percent tax on gross income generated from its citizens.
The biggest benefactor of an international player liquidity sharing agreement would of course be on-line poker. The interactive card game continues to struggle in New Jersey, peer-to-peer win down another eight % in 2017.
In October, Governor Chris Christie (R) finally signed an interstate compact with Nevada and Delaware to share pools. It’s helped to some degree.
The busiest Garden State web poker room in October was WSOP NV/888 Delaware, which was averaging 130 players. Today, the busiest room is WSOP/888 New Jersey, which has kept 190 seats occupied over the last week.