A 2103 New Jersey law that allowed for online casino play, including poker, has a sunset provision. Who knew?
New Jersey lobbyist William Pascrell III did. He brought that up as part of a talk on the history of gambling in America to Seton Hall law school students September 20. The discussion marked the first day of the “Gaming, Compliance and Integrity Boot Camp” a conference to introduce the students to the possibilities of employment in the growing industry.
Pascrell, a partner in the Princeton Public Affairs Group, informed the audience that the 2013 New Jersey law that legalized online casino gaming expires in 2023.
“All these colossal companies doing online casino or poker, they have to hope it gets renewed,” Pascrell said. “We don’t know who the governor will be, we don’t know who the legislature will be.”
The operators expect to exceed $1 billion in online gaming revenue, according to State Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck.
Easy enough, but operators hope to eliminate the law that says they must be linked to a casino entity to offer online gaming. Untethering, as it’s known, would save the 25 percent to 33 percent of their profits that now go to the host casinos.
Thus, talks about renewing the law could get complicated, Pascrell said. For the record, Pascrell believes the law will be reauthorized, according to NJ Online Gambling.
“But there will be some changes,” he said. “Any time you have a bill pushed that is of significance, with a lot of people looking at it, there will be a lot of people looking to put different things into it. Whether or not there is an untethering remains to be seen.”
Rebuck said the tethering situation might be in the minds of casino companies as they look to mergers and acquisitions. Caesars buying William Hill, for example.
“If you’re a casino and you acquired the company, you don’t have to be worried about [a guaranteed partnership with an online casino brand] going away; you own it, you operate it, you don’t have to worry about a third party coming in,” Rebuck said. “You are in control.”
Any change in the bill which could have a negative impact on the health of the industry in Atlantic City would have little support in Trenton.
