New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed legislation that would have made NJ the first state to legalize intrastate online poker.  He cited “legal and constitutional concerns” and supposedly was concerned with underage gambling and the possibility for back-room illegal gambling halls fronted by a handful of Internet-connected computers to spring up across the state.  Gov. Christie is not known as one to shy away from hard choices or to play partisan politics, but I have to wonder whether talk of him having higher political aspirations coupled with his Republican affiliation influenced his decision.  Another factor could have been the negative effect online poker could have on Atlantic City, given that Gov. Christie’s recently took control of the city and promised to reverse its economic swoon.  Can’t imagine he’d want to do anything to hurt his chances for success with another election to win (assuming he does not run for President that is). 

Regardless, the cause is not over.  The NJ legislature could override the veto or the bill could be re-worked to address Christie’s concerns and re-submitted for consideration (though this takes time).  Or maybe California passes legislation and NJ realized the errors of its ways and reverses course.  Don’t place your bests on this though just yet.

Updating perhaps the most interesting story taking shape these days in the poker legislation arena, as we reported on previously, Gov. Christie has until February 25th to veto legislation that would legalize online intrastate poker in New Jersey.  If he fails to veto it, the bill becomes law.  Even if he vetos it, the legislature can (and likely will) override the veto.  The big issue is how involved Gov. Christie wants to be, both on behalf of New Jersey and in relation to his increasing national political visibility (read: the presidency).  Bottom line my fellow poker playing ladies and gents, we’re 12 days removed from bottling our favorite New Jersey “garden” state jokes and hitting the MLS listings for Teaneck.  As promised, we will continue to update this developing story (always wanted to write that) as, well, developments happen.

The New Jersey state assembly has passed a bill that would make online poker (and other casino gambling, though not sports gambling) legal if played by NJ residents on licensed sites.  The measure already passed in the state Senate.  The final hurdle before it becomes law is the receipt of Governor Christie’s signature.  Observers predict — though this is a bit like reading tea leaves — that he will sign the bill given that to date he has not voiced his opposition to it (Gov. Christie is not one to mince words after all) and that NJ is severely strapped for cash.  However, and this is pure speculation on my part, given Gov. Christie’s rumored interest in running for national office (read:  the Presidency) on the historically conservative Republican ticket, he may not want to align himself with gamblers.  My hunch is it passes.  We should know more within 45 days.  That’s the deadline by which he must veto the bill or it becomes law.

There are few interesting points about the legislation and its potential implementation.  The law specifies that “all equipment used by a licensee to conduct Internet wagering…shall be located…within the territorial limits of Atlantic City.”  It further specifies that “[a]ll Internet wagers shall be deemed to be placed when received in Atlantic City by the licensee.”  In other words, AC now is the hub for the NJ Internet gambling scene.  Could mean hundreds if not thousands of jobs and an influx of money into the depressed area.  Running Internet sites is costly and demands many people — servers, tech support, customer support (stop laughing), and so forth.  Exactly what Gov. Christie probably wants to revitalize AC now that the state has taken control of AC’s restoration — so yet another reason why he may sign the bill. 

How this affects the current mega-sites (FTP, PS, etc.) is unclear, however.  Allow me to offer few possibilities.  The legislation could result in the sites pulling out of New Jersey like they did in Washington, fearful of legal repercussions.  Then again they could keep operating in New Jersey and take their chances that NJ (which, unlike Washington, does not expressly criminalize online poker) will not enforce its turf and sue/arrest them claiming that the intrastate law means interstate poker sites are de facto illegal.  Or, and all poker-playing NJ residents hope, the two sides create a mutually beneficial situation (the orange juice and orange peel example from college negotiations classes).  For example, NJ could hire FTP or PS (or, more likely, a separate newly formed company) to be the intrastate operator and use the mega-site’s already developed software (with some tweaks of course).  The state wins by quickly getting a world class site with robust software (read:  immediate revenue) and the sites win by operating in a jurisdiction that otherwise may be closed to them.  Bottom line is it’s too early to tell how this will play out, but it need not play out poorly for poker players.