A bill that was sponsored by New Jersey’s Senator Ray Lesniak in an attempt to bring online gaming to New Jersey was introduced in the Senate in January 2010.  On 15th November, 2010, this bill, the New Jersey Senate bill S 490, cleared the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 10 for and 1 against after politicians were convinced that internet gambling could see New Jersey earn millions in revenue over the next few years.   By the end of this year the bill will be discussed and considered by the full Senate.

If everything goes according to plan, bill S 490 will permit the Atlantic City land casinos to offer residents of New Jersey and customers outside the United States online versions of their games.  The games to be offered will include blackjack, poker and baccarat. 

New Jersey could earn as much as $50 million in revenue per year if things run smoothly as the government will receive 20% of the revenue which will be generated by a select group of online gambling companies.

S 490 was clubbed as portion of a package of Democrat-sponsored bills attempting to prop up the state’s ailing horse racing and casino industries in the Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Lesniak was quoted in the Cape May County Herald as saying that “the jobs being created and revenues generated is currently going offshore to international gaming operators and bill S490 will ensure that those revenues will be redirected to the casinos in Atlantic City and that S 11 will build a bridge to self-sufficiency for our horseracing industry and assist in saving its 13,000 jobs and $1 billion of revenues generated in New Jersey”.

Lesniak also stated that New Jersey will become the first state in Americat to offer intrastate and international internet gaming if S 490 is signed into law and predicted that New Jersey could possibly turn into a global Mecca for internet gaming.

Senator Lesniak received a lot of support from the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (IMEGA) with the drafting of the bill and lobbying for its support.