New Jersey Legalizes Online Poker

It’s official. New Jersey has now become the first state to legalize online poker, so put away your custom poker chip set and poker table supplies. If you recall, we talked about this subject about a month. The bill passed last week on January 10, with a 63-11 vote from the State Assembly. The Senate had previously passed the bill back in November with a 29-5 vote. The bill is now awaiting the signature of Governor Chris Christie. He has 45 days to sign the bill into law or veto it. If signing the bill slips his mind in those 45 days and no action is taken, the bill becomes law automatically. Christie hasn’t shown favor or disapproval for it so it is most likely that he will sign it.

If made law, it will take effect on July 4 (how patriotic!). It is not only limited to online poker, but will also allow other casino games and forms of gambling. No one is quite sure how this will affect the gambling industry, but it does mean that New Jersey players can only play online with other people from the state. Some players fear this will happen in other states, limiting the player pool to people within your own state. California is one of many states that are looking to pass similar bills. All eyes are now on New Jersey…