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New Jersey’s salvation?
Could New Jersey become the Malta or Gibraltar of the US? That’s the intriguing possibility proposed by an e-gaming industry body which argues that the state’s move to legalise online gaming, for its residents only, could be the catalyst for the creation of a new, much-needed high-tech economy.
New Jersey has long ailed from the decay of its traditional industries, and its government faces a deficit estimated at $8-11bn.
But while much attention has been paid to the impact gaming tax revenues will have on cutting that deficit, a report prepared for the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (Imega) by public policy and economics consulting group Econsult sees an even deeper positive impact on the state.
For a start, it says, the legalisation of e-gaming will in the long term create 57,000 jobs, earning local people a total of $2bn annually, although only about 2,000 will come about immediately. Other knock-on benefits from becoming the first US state to legalise Internet gambling for its residents will include increased demand for commercial real estate.
“The economic benefit has the potential to extend far beyond the available gaming tax yield,” said Joe Brennan, Imega’s Chairman. “What has made this compelling for New Jersey is the opportunity for job creation in a high-tech sector, as well as the ability to attract significant investment dollars to the state. New Jersey wants to be the capital of i-gaming, and with all of the infrastructure, workforce, regulatory and location advantages, it very well could be.”
The EConsult report suggests: “Successful enactment of the proposed legislation could generate economic and fiscal benefits that far exceed those associated with an intra-state system.
“In particular, passage of this legislation could allow New Jersey to become the business hub of a burgeoning new industry, exporting services to and generating income from gamers throughout the country.”
Our US correspondent Sharon Harris looks in more depth at the context of the New Jersey decision in her column this issue.
