A bill which would oblige New Jersey online gambling operators to promote their affiliate Atlantic City casinos on their websites, has been advanced by the state Assembly to the Senate.
AB 2811, a bill proposed by New Jersey Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, received 67-10 votes in favor of requiring the internet gambling website to prominently print, display, announce or other disseminate the name of its partner land-based casino on each form of internet gaming advertisement conducted by the licensee. Under New Jersey’s relatively recent online gambling laws, all online gambling license holders are required to form a partnership with an Atlantic City casino.
Caputo, who is also the chair of the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and Arts Committee issued a statement following the bill’s successful vote which said: “Amid all the new stories and headlines, it is easy to forget that Atlantic City still has plenty to offer as far as gambling, dining, shopping and entertainment. We should use every opportunity available to promote the casinos still standing and remind potential customers that there is still plenty to see and do in Atlantic City.”
At present, online gambling licensees are not required to promote or advertise their land-based partners, and Caputo, known for his lack of enthusiasm for online gambling, is keen to change the situation. His proposed bill will require that internet gambling sites be supervised by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement who will be responsible for making sure that the operators comply with the new advertising regulations.
Caputo believes that AB 2811 will help land-based casinos in Atlantic City who, according to the Assemblyman, are being negatively affected by online gambling. “People are not going to Atlantic City because they’re betting on the internet,” he said, expanding on the myth that igaming is cannibalizing the Garden State’s casino industry. “So they’ve lost more patrons, more room occupancies.”
It should be noted that this cannibalization theory has been debunked on more than one occasion by gambling experts, and in fact it has been proven that online gambling has helped brick-and-mortar properties, especially those Atlantic City casinos that were struggling in the past.
Caputo is a long-standing critic of online gambling, and has been especially vocal against PokerStars entry into New Jersey – opposition, it should be noted, which was not effective since the online poker room has now established itself as the leading site in NJ.
