Has "Its Time" Finally Come?

In the late summer of 2000 I walked into an office among the quaint and busy historical district of Historic Main Street in St. Charles Missouri that would forever change my life.

I walked into the world headquarters of River City Group for an initial job interview, one that was followed up with an offer and subsequent 5 years of work at the company. It changed my life because while I was hired as a staff writer for an online trade publication (www.IGamingNews.com) it was a clear step away from the print newspaper world I had gone to school and trained for.

Not only was the shift away from traditional media a big one, it was a larger shift into the specific world of online gambling and the general sector of web operations that would set the course for the rest of my professional career.

I only give you that brief background of my professional journey during the first half of the last decade to point out the fact that I have been around the block for a little while when it comes to online gambling (the "it" referenced in the headline above) specifically and the web in general.

I won't bore you with a lengthy history lesson on the industry or its lobbying efforts for the last 15 years, some of which I played a small but direct role in and had a front row seat as they played themselves out. But anyone who has had any discussion with me about how the industry is regulated/prohibited in the United States knows my mantra has always been that "it" will happen some day.

As states and jurisdictions deal with tightening budgets and massive cutbacks the online gambling industry offers a revenue producer that could be taxed at over 20%. The industry has always offered to pay hefty taxes as the benefit of being able to operate freely within the United States far outweighs the risk of having to operate covertly from a foreign jurisdiction.

New Jersey took a major step today when its governor approved a bill allowing for the state's 11 current casino operators in Atlantic City to create an intrastate system that would make it possible for Garden State citizens to log on and play black jack, roulette and other table games. The bill was approved after passing both the State Senate and the House.

Even though the system is "intrastate" only it is projected to inject the state with $100 million in tax revenue (the casinos agreed to be taxed at 23%) and create 500 jobs, something every state I am sure would embrace right now.

This bill no doubt will be the proverbial breaking of the dam and you can expect other states to follow suit in order to a) stay competitive and b) keep jobs and money in their state. Similar bills have been introduced or reached various stages in states like California, Nevada, and North Dakota and looked for these to pick up steam again or be revisited and for many of the other states (28 in all) who have casinos already to study this issue.

It may not seem like much right now, but the steps taken today in New Jersey were of the Neal Armstrong variety, one small step for a state but one massive leap for an industry.