mike1
1758
2012/12/19 08:38
#299078
Manne wrote:
A bill that would allow New Jersey residents to play online versions of casino games anywhere in the state passed the Assembly on Monday — even though Meadowlands Racetrack operator Jeff Gural has said the bill was “outrageous” because it would harm the horse racing industry and casino workers.
“It’s shocking to me that anyone would do what should be called the ‘Casino Worker Unemployment Act,’Ÿ” Gural said. “I don’t think they’ve thought this out. Why would people keep going to the casinos? I know the casino owners see this as an opportunity, because if people do this online, [the operators] won’t have to buy more machines, and they won’t have to pay someone to clean them, either.”
Gural points to his own industry, which allows bettors to place wagers on the Internet, as evidence of his concerns.
“We tried this, and now our racetracks are empty,” said Gural, who is in the process of having a scaled-down grandstand built at the Meadowlands backstretch. “They’re betting at home on the computer instead.”
A vote on the bill in the Senate is expected on Thursday, and state Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union, said he expects the bill to pass.
Governor Christie vetoed a similar measure last year, however, and he has not commented on whether he would sign this version into law.
The Assembly vote on Monday was 48-25 — down from a 63-11 vote for the previous version, which included up to $30 million in horse racing purse subsidies. Christie, who opposes any racing subsidies, had cited that clause as one of several reasons for the veto.
Casino gambling is “another nail in the coffin of horse racing,” Gural said, because it creates even less incentive for gamblers to go to the track and because those who bet on horse racing online likely would divert some of their spending to other forms of online gambling.
Gural has said that he does not object to the state offering online poker — the most common form of online casino gambling — because he considers that a game of skill.
“But allowing people to play slots in their bedroom is a dangerous thing to do,” Gural said.
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Legislation introduced by sport and tourism minister Hugh Robertson aim to make foreign-based gambling operators accountable to the same standards as those based within the U.K.
One of the provisions of the new bill, the first attempted by the government since 2005, is to make foreign-based gambling operators inform the British government about suspicious sports betting patterns in order to be licensed to take wagers from British citizens.
The last piece of gambling legislation, passed in 2005, "is not working as well as intended and has become unsustainable," the government said.
The provisions of that law made it so that online gambling operators to be licensed if they were based in the U.K., which forced many of the top online gaming companies, such as Ladbrokes and William Hill, to set up their operation in countries with low-tax regimes, giving the UK very little influence over online gambling.
Locales such as Gibraltar and the Isle of Man have more appeal to online gambling sites and may not require operators to report suspicious gambling activity.
"These proposals will ensure that British consumers enjoy consistent standards of protection, regardless of where a gambling business is based, and will also help the fight against illegal activity and corruption in sports betting," Robertson said.
The legislation comes as new gambling jurisdictions are emerging across Europe. The new gambling sites have begun targeting British consumers, but without governmental oversight, exceedingly little is known about the level of consumer protection and regulation that the sites provide.
"It is a step in the right direction, but, we will want to see how it will be policed and how it will be enforced to ensure that people are protected from those operators who will seek to get around the new regulations," said Shadow Sports Minister Clive Efford.
Slightly fewer than 300 licenses have been issued to around 200 operators since the law was enacted seven years ago. According to Gambling Commission Chairman Philip Graf, that amounts to only about 20 percent of online wagering done by British consumers.
As things stand, the commission "cannot insist on overseas operators providing us with information about suspicious sports betting transactions," Graf said.
The legislation is expected to create consolidation in the online gaming industry and may favor the bigger operators. Foreign-based operators seeking a license will also be expected to pay fees and contribute toward the treatment and education around gambling problems. The license will be necessary for the operators to transact with British customers and advertise to them.
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U.K. Looking to Tighten Online Gambling Restrictions Reports Bang the Book | Dec 18, 2012