According to a recent poll, more than half of the citizens of the Garden State support the idea of legal gambling within their borders. Specifically, says iGaming Business, “Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind Poll earlier this month found that 52 percent of voters in New Jersey support the state-wide sportsbetting referendum while a second poll from Rutgers University’s Eagleton Center For Public Interest Polling released on Wednesday indicated that this backing is even higher at 58 percent.”
Though the main thrust of the proposed referendum would indeed deal with sportsbetting, there is a great deal of hope here for online poker players. Should the legislation (backed by State Senator Raymond Lesniak, a longtime poker advocate) manage to make its way through the governmental machine, online enthusiasts would be just a few steps away from enjoying their favorite pastime in the privacy of their own home.
“The potential for economic benefit,” Professor David Redlawsk of Rutgers University told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “seems to overcome any possible doubts in the part of the state that should gain the most.
“Assuming the likely passage of the amendment, New Jersey voters will send a strong message to the state’s political leaders to continue pressing the federal government for change. In this economic environment any reasonable opportunity for significant revenue to the state looks pretty good to voters.”
The specific numbers here are quite impressive. Besides the aforementioned 52 percent, the Eagleton poll found that only 31 percent were absolutely opposed to the idea of online sportsbetting. Republicans (64 percent) were even more bullish on the idea than the Democrats (58 percent).
These numbers will soon be put to a vote, with residents of the Garden State taking to the polls in early November.