新泽西州走在网络博彩合法化的前列

　　大多数美国州政府正试图监管网上赌博行为，但他们都希望遵守一个前提，那就是只有生活在他们州地区的赌徒才允许在网上赌场进行赌博。新泽西州国会议员目前正在采取另一种做法，他们希望通过一项法案，使来自任何州地区的赌徒都能在新泽西州州的网络赌场玩赌博游戏。

　　上周四新泽西州内务委员会已经通过了这样一项法案，授权任何州地区的居民在新泽西州的网络赌场下注，但需要监管部门首先确定此类活动不违反联邦宪法，这对新泽西州博彩执法部门来说或将是一个棘手的问题。

　　目前，联邦政府正在改变国家关于网络博彩的法律。按照联邦政府的长期政策，网上赌博是非法的，包括唯一的网上体育博彩也是非法行为。

　　各州和联邦立法者一直努力试图改变网上赌场的监管框架。目前的形势是，国会议员已经采取行动规范网上扑克领域，这使得网上扑克成为世界上增长最快的行业之一。

　　当下新泽西州议员正在进行第二次努力，以更加规范新泽西的网上赌博行为。去年，众议院和参议院通过的法案最终被州长克里斯·克里斯蒂否决。但在最近几个月这位州长表示，如果一个周密完善的博彩法案送到他的办公桌上，他将同意开放网络赌博。

　　参议员雷蒙一直在为规范网络赌博而努力不惜。选民去年通过了体育博彩法案，国会议员开始按照法规要求，将在大西洋城赌场开设体育博彩图书馆。

　　新泽西州的国会议员都感到十分兴奋，因为新泽西州在规范网络博彩行业方面走上了先锋之路。

　　新泽西州赌场协会主席罗伯特·格里芬说：“新泽西州必须走在这个新兴市场合法化的前列。目前，数以百万计的美国人从事境外非法运营，没有监督，没有监管，也没有一套可以保护网络博彩消费者的法律条文，也没有确保博彩游戏公正性执行标准，这就意味着让利润和就业机会非法流向海外。”

　　译文：

　　Most states that are attempting to regulate online gambling are doing so under the premise that only gamblers that live in their state will be permitted to gamble at the online casinos. New Jersey lawmakers are taking another approach, passing a bill that would let gamblers from any state bet at New Jersey online casinos.

　　The bill that was passed through a House Committee on Thursday authorizes online casinos to take bets from residents in any state, as long as regulators determine that the activity is not against federal laws. That will be a tricky determination for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

　　Currently, the federal government is working on changing the countries' laws regarding online gambling. The government has had a long-standing policy that online gambling was illegal, but a Department of Justice opinion in December altered that stance to include only sports betting as an illegal online activity.

　　Since that opinion, state and federal legislators have been hard at work trying to come up with the regulatory framework for online casinos. The most common angle that lawmakers have taken involves regulating online poker, one of the fastest growing industries in the world.

　　New Jersey is making their second attempt at regulating Internet gambling. Last year, a bill passed both the House and Senate, but was eventually vetoed by Governor Chris Christie. The governor has stated in recent months that he would be open to online gambling regulations, if an airtight bill came to his desk.

　　Senator Raymond Lesniak has been the driving force behind not only online gambling, but also sports betting in New Jersey. Voters approved sports betting last year, and lawmakers have started the process of coming up with regulations that would allow Atlantic City casinos to open sports books. Even if the online gambling bill passes in the coming months, sports betting would be limited to land-based sports books in New Jersey.

　　Even with the uncertainty surrounding the time-frame of when a deal would get done, New Jersey lawmakers are excited over the opportunity to become one of the first states to regulate online gambling.

　　"The state of New Jersey must be in the forefront of legalizing this emerging marketplace," said Robert Griffin, President of the Casino Association of New Jersey. "Currently, millions of Americans engage in online gambling with illegal offshore operators with no oversight, no regulation, and no consumer protection. The state should regulate this activity, enforce strict standards to ensure the games are fair, and collect revenue rather than allow profits and jobs to illegally go overseas."