Online gamblers in NJ expected to triple in 2014

New Jersey, the Garden State, has been the innovator for making changes for Internet gambling and online poker in the United States. The problem is they are not raking in quite as much loot as they had hoped, especially in the eyes of some state legislators, including Governor Chris Christie. Experts are expecting the number of players that gamble and play poker on Atlantic City casino websites to triple in 2014.

Some remain optimistic while others just don't think this is going to pan out. Proponents say there have been almost 200,000 accounts created so far, with monthly revenues from Internet gaming totaling $9.5 million in January, a 28 percent increase from December 2013. Opponents argue that this venture was supposed to go a lot better and revenues aren't measuring up.

One idea by Senator Raymond Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) is to allow game play globally. In other words, you could live anywhere in the world and play on New Jersey websites. This could rake in another $33 billion if the bill were to pass. Now, because of the lucrative nature of New Jersey's unused online poker and general Internet casino market, this is a real possibility.

New Jersey law only allows players located inside New Jersey state borders are allowed to play on the licensed sites. If the new bill is passed, given the current level of growth, New Jersey could be looking at in excess of a quarter-billion dollars of tax revenue in 2014. That is not including the new jobs that would open up too.

The new bill would allow New Jersey to enter into agreements with other states that allow their residents to play on New Jersey sites and also allow New Jersey to enter into international agreements with other countries so their residents could also play on New Jersey-powered sites.