PPA Urges Christie to sign Internet Gambling Bill
Tuesday January 29,2013 : POKER PLAYERS ALLIANCE URGES GOVERNOR TO SIGN INTERNET GAMBLING BILL (Update)
With less than a week to the deadline left, Gov. Christie is still playing his cards close to the chest.
New Jersey governor Chris Christie has the industry holding its breath as the deadline for his signature approving online gambling legalization in the Garden State rolls ever closer.
With less than a week to go to the deadline, Christie has still given no hint of which way he will set course, and the Poker Players Alliance – previously a strong advocate of the failed Reid-Kyl federal solution – has now joined those urging him to sign the intrastate legalization into law.
The action group says it has activated its more than 20,000 members in New Jersey to urge the governor to sign legalization legalising online gaming before the early February deadline.
“The New Jersey legislature voted in near unanimity to revive the state’s gaming economy by making New Jersey an epicenter for online gaming and poker," proclaims a press release from the Alliance.
"Since the legalization was sent to Governor Christie’s desk, the public has been unanimous in its support for the bill. Thousands of New Jersey residents have contacted the Governor urging him to sign the bill into law.
"In addition to providing New Jersey poker players with a safe and regulated online poker market, this important legalization will add millions in state revenue and thousands of jobs to the state. New Jersey has the opportunity to be a leader in a vibrant and thriving 21st Century industry, and we hope Governor Christie recognizes the many benefits this bill will bring to this state and its citizens.”
Through PPA’s new webpage, New Jersey residents – whether they are PPA members or not – have a one-stop shop for contacting Governor Christie via phone, email, Facebook and Twitter to urge him to sign the bill into law.
Since the campaign was launched last week, New Jersey voters have made more than 500 calls to the Governor, sent over 1,300 emails and flooded the Governor’s social networks with Tweets and Facebook posts urging him to sign the bill.
Meanwhile, NJ.com reported Monday that the governor has just signed another bill, A2610, which allows New Jersey gamblers at the state’s horse racing tracks to place bets using mobile devices such as cell phones.
Bets must be placed on the track grounds. A similar bill allowing mobile gaming within Atlantic City casinos was signed into law in August 2012.
"Mobile devices are now a standard part of our lives allowing consumers to do any number of activities, and now we move forward in modernizing our horse racing industry," Assemblywoman Connie Wagner, a sponsor of the bill, said in a statement.
