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New York and New Jersey are both likely to offer online poker by the end of 2012, says one analyst. Potentially the two states could offer pooling of their players utilizing a model that is similar to that of the state lottery system, Powerball. Combined, the two states have a total population of approximately 27 million.
“We believe there soon will be enabling legislation in some of these states, which could expand quickly as other states in desperate need of tax revenue seek to tap into a new (and potentially large) revenue source,” Harry Curtis, a gaming analyst with Nomura Securities, wrote in his report.
Late last month, the US Justice Department released a statement saying it would no longer apply The Wire Act to online poker. This decision seemingly provided a green light for individual states to consider legalizing online poker without fear of a federal obstacle standing in the way.
“This has opened the floodgates for states to set up online poker laws so they can offer it through their own lottery systems, without any federal involvement,” said analyst Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business.
Green said that poker play across state lines like New Jersey and New York would not present a problem for state lotteries since they already operate the Powerball and Mega Millions multi-state games.
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Connecticut Legislators Not Thrilled About the Prospect of Legalized Online Poker – Connecticut legislators worry that, should online poker become legal in the state, tribes would receive exclusive rights to operate without contributing a single dollar to the state.
Jordan Fenster of the New Haven Register writes:
In Connecticut, agreements struck in the 1990s give exclusive rights for table games to the state’s two Native American-owned casinos, providing the state with a quarter of the revenue garnered from video slots and preventing other entities from running for-profit casino operations.
According to the agreements, drawn up separately between the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, which operates Foxwoods Resort Casino, and the Mohegan Tribe, which operates Mohegan Sun, “The tribe agrees that, so long as no change in state law is enacted to permit the operation of video facsimiles or other commercial casino games by any other person and no other person within the state lawfully operates video facsimiles or other commercial casino games, the tribe will contribute to the state a sum equal to 25 percent of gross operating revenues of video facsimile games operated by the tribe.”
So it appears possible the casinos could open up Internet poker without contributing any of the revenue to the state. They don’t seem averse to the idea, and for good reason: A 2005 survey by Christiansen Capital Advisors said Internet poker alone was a $2.5 billion-a-year enterprise.
“We have been watching the Internet gambling issue closely, and there is no question that the Justice Department opinion is a positive development in an area of business growth that, except in horse racing, is largely untapped,” Foxwoods said in a statement.
Patrick Flanagan, Gambling911.com
