As it turns out, Governor Chris Christie may have more of a finger on the pulse of New Jersey residents than the lawmakers who passed Internet gambling legislation in January — legislation that now awaits Christie’s signature to go into effect.
A poll released on Monday shows that 62 percent of Jersey citizens support new laws allowing bets on sports “such as football and basketball, at Atlantic City casinos and state racetracks,” per NorthJersey.com’s John Brennan.
“New Jersey residents in the FDU poll overwhelmingly oppose allowing Internet gambling, however, by 67 percent to 26 percent,” Brennan adds, noting that the margin of error on Monday’s poll is “plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.”
No definitive word yet on whether this news will affect Christie’s decision to sign the bill into law — or veto it. The New York Post claims a veto is imminent, but iMEGA’s chairman Joe Brennan doesn’t buy it. “Our people just met with the Governor’s office yesterday and they didn’t indicate anything like this,” Brennan told PokerNewsDaily. “I don’t know why anyone would be going to the press with this story when I think it’s not indicative of anything going on. As far as we can tell, the Governor doesn’t feel like he’s under pressure. He wants to make sure they’re satisfied on all fronts.”
Christie has until March 3 to make that decision; after that point, the proposal becomes law with or without his signature.
The bill’s chief supporter, Senator Raymond Lesniak, said that he hopes the bill will be signed, but that he wouldn’t be surprised by a conditional veto that eliminates the online gambling portion of the law.