Online Gambling is Gaining Support in New Jersey

March 22, 2013 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently signed a bill that legalizes online gambling in the state. Coming as a result of years of debate and consideration, the measure is expected to increase $32.9 billion state budget by around $200 million. Gov. Christie took quite a radical turn in making this decision as he was once firmly opposed to any legalization without vetoing legislation and a public referendum. Being recently pressed by sore budget gaps, he had to give in and avoid upsetting budget hawks. But what would have happened if Christie hadn’t been forced into accepting online gambling legalization without consulting the people in a referendum? Well, the measure would not pass at the moment, as a recent poll found that only 41 percent of registered voters support it, while 46 percent are opposed. However, the momentum is toward favoring online gambling: two years ago only 26 percent were supporting it, with as many as 67 percent against; in May 2012, those statistics were 31 and 58 percent, respectively and now they stand at the above-mentioned figures. The organization that conducted the poll, PublicMind Poll at Fairleigh Dickinson, had its director, Krista Jenkins, give an assessment as to the cause for this shift. She concluded that voters might have acquired new information that produced a change of opinion and/or may understand the inevitability of online gambling legalization and choose to accept it. The poll also questioned people on their knowledge about the case of a federal judge recently blocking New Jersey’s attempt at legalizing sports betting at horse racing tracks and Atlantic City casinos. The state contended that a federal law violated the Tenth Amendment by forcing it to ban such betting and that it unfairly allowed such activities in only four states. When asked about how much they knew about the case, most people were not able to provide conclusive feedback, but 80 percent of them agreed that the issue should rest with the states. Jenkins underscored the importance of so many people being against federal sticking of nose into state and local affairs by remarking how voters from both major parties came together “in a rare moment of agreement”. The poll questioned 702 registered voters by telephone during the interval March 4 – March 10 and had a 3.7-percentage-point margin of error.