March 3rd marks the final day that Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey can make a final decision about S490, a bill that will see the introduction of legalized intrastate gambling in the state. Ahead of Christie’s decision comes the latest report from the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, which published the results of a recent study on S490 undertaken by the group.
The results showed an overwhelming support by New Jerseyans for the bill, which will not only see the creation of literally tens of thousands of new jobs, but will also directly impact the state’s budget deficit.
“Experts estimate that bill S490, which seeks to modernize and regulate internet gaming with the state of New Jersey, could create 35,000 jobs for the technology industry, as well as generate significant fiscal revenues that could help the close the state’s ailing budget deficit,” said iMEGA in a statement this week.
New Jersey residents were polled for the survey and iMEGA pointed out that the vast majority (85%) were in strong favor of S490 seeing the light of day.
According to iMEGA: “32% of these respondents are ‘gamers’ and core supporters of online gaming, while 52% are ‘economic pragmatists’ who, who not actually participating in gambling themselves, said that they supported the right of those who choose to do so and welcomed the potential boom to the New Jersey economy.”
It remains to be seen how Governor Christie will choose to act on what is considered a highly controversial bill. Should he choose not to veto the bill (or veto it conditionally), S490 will automatically become law on March 4th.
Comments are closed.