Inquirer Editorial: Baccarat in your bathrobe
In another bid to bolster Atlantic City casinos' fading fortunes, New Jersey lawmakers and Gov. Christie are making it possible for more gamblers to lose their shirts - even while they're not wearing one.
In another bid to bolster Atlantic City casinos' fading fortunes, New Jersey lawmakers and Gov. Christie are making it possible for more gamblers to lose their shirts - even while they're not wearing one.
The launch of Internet gambling sponsored by the Shore casinos puts the state, along with Delaware and Nevada, on what will likely be the nation's next frontier of state-sanctioned gambling.
While Christie and Trenton lawmakers are right to search for new winning combinations for the state's casino industry, it's anything but clear that letting people gamble in their pajamas, or even less, is what Atlantic City needs.
Christie this week quickly signed a bill passed by the Legislature that is expected to bring about legal online wagering within a year or so.
The legislation follows Christie's 2011 initiative to revitalize the resort city by devoting state casino revenues, once shared by communities across New Jersey, to projects designed to broaden Atlantic City's appeal as a visitor destination. As part of that plan, the state invested $261 million in tax credits for the construction of the Revel hotel and casino, which opened last year.
Now Revel is headed for bankruptcy court, and overall casino winnings at the Shore - including the state's cut - continue to be threatened by increased competition from casinos in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
As for online gambling's promise, the governor himself has expressed reservations in the past, wondering whether making it easy to gamble on a laptop would "drive traffic away from Atlantic City." But casino operators hope that offering online customers incentives like free rooms, meals, and entertainment will bring more people to the brick-and-mortar buildings.
Christie certainly signaled high hopes that the initiative will pay off for the state treasury. In proposing his budget this week, the governor disclosed that he expects state casino revenues to jump from $235 million this year to $436 million next year, mostly on the strength of online gambling.
To the extent that those predictions prove too optimistic, the governor will have to trim state spending, since he's not likely to increase taxes as his reelection bid approaches. Along with Pennsylvania and many other states, New Jersey continues to rely too heavily on legalized gambling to fund key government services, despite its known social harms.
Officials should be particularly concerned that expanding legal gambling to every computer and smartphone could boost New Jersey's number of problem gamblers, already estimated at 350,000. They must watch for any increases in social problems stemming from gambling, as well as enact safeguards against underage betting, when the state cuts the digital ribbon on its cyberspace casino.
