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 A five-day trial period of Internet gambling begins at 6 p.m.
Thursday when players invited by casinos to test their systems make
real-money bets online.
The test period is designed to see whether sophisticated technology
designed to ensure that all gamblers are within New Jersey and that
they are 21 or older works correctly. The test is also designed to
evaluate electronic payment technology, and the integrity and
functionality of the casino games themselves.
If all goes well, Internet gambling will be available to anyone
within New Jersey starting Tuesday. The only other states to offer
online gambling are Nevada and Delaware.
Online betting will mark the biggest expansion of gambling in New
Jersey since casino gambling began in 1978.
"This is a very exciting time for Atlantic City and for the gaming
industry," said Alisa Cooper, a commissioner with the New Jersey
Casino Control Commission. "I was born and raised here in Atlantic
City, and I remember all of the excitement that filled this city 35
years ago when the first casino opened. There have been a lot of
challenges and a lot of changes since those early days. With the
dawn of Internet gaming, we are on the cusp of perhaps the biggest
change — and challenge — since the first casino opened here."
Hours before the test was to begin, one lawmaker was to unveil a
proposal to expand Internet gambling in New Jersey. State Sen.
Raymond Lesniak, who sponsored the law that authorized online
betting, was to unveil his proposal at a news conference Thursday
morning.
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Then, at noon, the state was to release a list of gambling web sites
that had passed rigorous testing and would be permitted to go live
at 6 p.m. for the test.
Regulators say anywhere from 500 to several thousand people could be
online at any one time during the test period. David Rebuck,
director of the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, said he hopes
to push the system and test its capacity.
He said all indications thus far are that the system should work as
designed to meet strict regulation and protect players.
"I'm cautiously optimistic," he said. "Testing has been going on for
months, I don't' think there is any online gaming anywhere in the
world that is going to be monitored as closely and protect the
integrity of the games and players' money as well these will."
[Associated
Press; WAYNE PARRY]
Wayne Parry can be
reached at
http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC.
Copyright 2013 The Associated
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