A group of lawmakers are urging the government to uphold guidance permitting online gambling save for sports betting.
Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined Reps. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Leonard Lance (R-NJ), Tom MacArthur (R-NJ), Josh Gottheimer (R-NJ), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) and Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) in forwarding correspondence urging Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to uphold the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) 2011 Wire Act, in response to recent efforts urging DOJ to rescind that guidance.
“Placing a blanket prohibition for online gambling would be an antiquated approach to a 21st-century issue, punishing states like New Jersey – which have invested in creating a safe and secure online gaming structure – while also permitting black market operators to put millions of Americans at risk,” the legislators wrote.
Officials said New Jersey’s legal online gambling industry has been a success since being established 2011, bringing in a record $200 million in revenues during the first 10 months of 2017 alone while sparking a rebirth in Atlantic City.
“This growth in revenue is in large part due to significant capital investments by the state in online gaming facilities, equipment, and technology that makes online gaming safe and secure,” the lawmakers wrote. “New Jersey has some of the strictest online gaming regulation protocols in the world, featuring technologies which were developed or implemented for state-mandated requirements, including precise geolocation and regulatory monitoring of all operated platforms.”