New Jersey Governor Chris Christie conditionally vetoed a bill that would allow Atlantic City casinos to offer gambling on the Internet. A conditional veto means that Christie wants to make a couple of changes to the bill , and then he will sign it. 

Christie's added conditions are minor according to the bill's sponsor Senator Ray Lesniak, and that he will send the governor the new version of it in a few weeks. 

Christie said he would sign the bill if it had a 10-year trial period and if there was a higher tax rate placed on casinos. Christie wanted the tax rate increased from 10 percent to 15 percent on casinos' online winnings. 

For the second time in three years, the New Jersey governor vetoed an online gambling bill that was approved by the New Jersey Legislature. 

His reasoning for vetoing it in 2011 were his concerns about the bill's constitutionality and that he wanted all gambling to take place within Atlantic City. Legal experts stated because of the fact that the bets would be accepted in Atlantic City, that the bill is in fact constitutional. 

Christie also stated that he wanted to help the casinos because of their decreasing revenue over the past six years. New Jersey casino profits were just over $3 billion last year compared to $5.2 billion in revenue in 2006. 

New Jersey will join Nevada and Delaware as the only states that allow online gambling. 

 

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