New Jersey online gambling bill vote delayed until Autumn

A vote on online gambling in New Jersey will not take place until Autumn, according to the bill’s sponsor Senator Raymond Lesniak.

Lesniak (pictured) had been aiming to have his bill approved in a Senate floor vote yesterday.

The Senate did approve mobile bets in Atlantic City casinos though as a vote passed 34-0 in favour of Senator James Whelan’s bill.

Lesniak said that stalling by Governor Chris Christie, who would need to sign the bill into law, is the reason for the delay.

“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 told PokerNews.

“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,” the Senator added.

Last week, Christie said that New Jersey will ignore a federal ban and permit betting on sports this fall.

However, it appears the Governor’s bullish stance does not extend to online gambling in the state, which some have suggested may be due to national political ambitions of supporting fellow Republican Mitt Romney’s run for president.

The Senate’s approval of mobile betting in Atlantic City casinos follows last month’s endorsement by a state Assembly committee.

The Assembly itself will now vote on the mobile betting legislation, although no date has been scheduled yet.