PokerStars, Full Tilt could be blocked by NJ bill amendments
Amendment to A2578 seeks to block operators that "willingly accepted" post-UIEGA bets from US customers.
New Jersey politicians could potentially block operators which continued to accept US players post-UIEGA from obtaining an online poker licence in the Garden State after making amendments to the egaming bill introduced by Senator Raymond Lesniak.
Senator Lesniak’s (pictured) egaming bill A2578, which passed through an Assembly committee last week, was amended to include a provision addressing so-called “bad actors” who “knowingly and willfully offered, accepted, or made available bets, wagers, or stakes using the internet from persons located in the United States after December 31, 2006″.
Section 37 of the bill also states that the amendment applies to companies with any direct or indirect control of a company offering poker illegally in the US. The provision is seen as an attempt to block the likes of PokerStars and Full Tilt re-entering the market, or indeed any of their subsidiaries.
PokerStars and Full Tilt “ active in the US before UIGEA “ were among of a handful of poker sites to continue serving US customers beyond its enactment, becoming market-leaders before being forced to exit the US market following the Black Friday indictments.
Last month eGaming Review revealed that PokerStars was understood to be in talks to acquire its former US rival Full Tilt Poker, with the deal rumoured to include a settlement with the Department of Justice. The acquisition and settlement was considered to be a potential precursor to PokerStars re-entering the US market, however the latest amendments could spell an end to those plans in New Jersey at least.
As the cut-off date in the amendment relates to December 31 2006 and not the UIGEA enactment date of October 13 the same year, some companies such as 888 and Party Poker would escape the obstacles installed by the latest amendment. Both ceased to accept US players almost immediately after UIGEA was brought in.
Lesniak’s bill was approved by three Assembly members and rejected by just one, and follows its companion bill, S1565, which passed out of a Senate committee last month. Both will now progress to a full floor vote in their respective houses on 31 May.
When eGaming Review spoke to Senator Lesniak last night, he said of the amendment: “I’m not sure [what the intended message was] because it was not my amendment. It was the Assembly sponsors’ amendment.
“Obviously the message is to be cleaner than the driven snow in terms of our licensing process, which has been New Jersey’s approach to casino gambling all along. But I don’t believe it is necessary for us to be cleaner than the driven snow, and actually adversely impact our state casinos and their ability to get up and running once we finally approve internet gaming. So this is one of the issues that I hope we’ll be able to work out between the two houses,” he explained.
Elsewhere in the bill, an amendment has been made that would allow operators in New Jersey to take bets from customers in other states and countries, as long as the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement determine that it would not violate federal law. The move is seen as an enabling provision which would ensure the operators in the Garden State could take part in compacts with other states as and when they regulate.
During the Assembly Committee hearing, however, Assemblyman John Burzichelli said: “Nothing can happen outside our state borders unless the federal government acts, and that’s not likely anytime soon.”
Senator Lesniak added: “If we’re going to do this [regulate online gambling], we might as well take full advantage of it.”