While a whole lot of states are making noise about online poker, there has yet to be a state besides Nevada with some law to back up the talk.
New Jersey looked set to join that group sooner than later, but the needle moved way toward the later side today when the man spearheading Jersey’s online poker push said his bill won’t see a vote until Fall of 2012.
From PokerNews.com:
New Jersey State Sen. Raymond Lesniak said the Internet gambling bill he had hoped to pass through the Senate on Thursday likely will not be voted on until fall.
Lesniak, who introduced the legislation along with State Sen. Jim Whalen, had been pointing for more than a month at May 31 as the day the bill would be approved. Lesniak said the bill did not have the votes to be addressed on Thursday.
“Because of Gov. Christie’s ambivalence on it and him sending messages that he doesn’t want it to go through until the fall, we’re having trouble getting enough Democratic votes to pass it because of opposition from the racing industry,” Lesniak said in a phone interview. “We’re going to work on it until the end of June and see if we can get it done by getting the governor’s support or getting the Democratic votes.”
It’s getting harder to imagine Jersey as a serious hub for online poker; the state has been trying to get a bill done for a few years now but may be getting bogged down just as other states like Illinois are actually gaining a little momentum.
