Written by Thomas | Friday, March 4th, 2011

Online poker isn’t going to be legalized any time soon in the state of New Jersey, dealing a somewhat significant blow to the state of internet gambling regulation here in the United States.

After a few suspenseful days of lying on the desk of the Governor, the state’s proposal was quietly defeated with a simple veto from Chris Christie. With it, the state also fails to become the first to regulate online gambling activity in the U.S.

“In my view, the creation of a legal fiction deeming all wagers to have ‘originated’ in Atlantic City cannot overcome the clear and unambiguous language of the State Constitution,” he said in a message after the veto was made.

In addition, heal also noted that “the expansion of gambling in New Jersey has been slow and cautious,” referring to a recent poll that showed nearly 70% of citizens in the state were against the passing of any type of online regulation for gambling websites and providers.

The bill was expected to be vetoed by many gaming analysts and regulators; however, many lobbyists and avid online gamblers were hoping for the best when it came to getting Governor Christie’s signature on the final document.

Pro-gambling rights group iMEGA (also known as the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association) was also a strong advocate for the measure, which would have allowed for Atlantic City casinos like the Borgata and Trump Taj Majal properties to offer and operate their own online gambling websites.

The big question from here is simple: Will internet gambling EVER have a legal home in the United States?

Unfortunately, it’s once again too early to tell if and when New Jersey tries to step up to the plate again to get this bill worked into the law.

One thing is certain – it doesn’t look like this whole thing isn’t going to be ending any time soon, especially since there is an off-chance that the state legislature could receive a reworked proposal on the language of the bill within the next few weeks that might allow for Governor Christie to possibly change his mind.

Right now, New Jersey is suffering economically and most lawmakers believed that if New Jersey was to pass an online gambling regulation act it would not only boost their own revenues but it would also help struggling land-based casinos that have been operating in the state for nearly 3 decades.

If such a bill is ever approved it could mean an increase of revenue in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars alone for individual states.

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