Online gaming proponents are vowing to push ahead despite a leading casino industry lobbying group's withdrawal of support for expanded Internet gambling, which has proved to be a divisive issue among Las Vegas gaming titans.
State Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Steven Grossman said the reversal by the American Gaming Association does not chill his interest in exploring online gaming to boost the state Lottery.
"They can have their squabbles out there all they want," Grossman said. "We'll continue to move forward … to study this issue and how it can potentially affect us, one way or another. Any smart business of any kind, public or private, would study that. You have to change to survive and flourish."
The AGA announced this past week it would no longer push to expand online gaming into new states, an issue that has pitted opponents such as Sands chief Sheldon Adelson and Wynn Resorts head Steve Wynn against supporters such as MGM and Caesars Entertainment.
Grossman said the near $5 billion state Lottery still wants to explore if online gaming can help preserve its market share, so long as credit cards can't be used to play and if it doesn't increase gambling addiction or hurt Lottery retailers.
"I hear the differences of opinion out there," Grossman said. "We're not going to get dragged one way or another into that debate. We'll simply study and be very careful with any approach to online gaming that doesn't protect the people of this commonwealth appropriately."
A bill is pending in the Legisla-
ture that would clear the path for the Lottery to experiment with online gaming.
Adam Krejcik, managing director at Eilers Research, which tracks online gambling, said the AGA's move dampened the prospects for new states jumping into the arena, particularly in the wake of poor returns in New Jersey.
"I think a state would much rather have the AGA support … someone needs to be leading the charge," Krejcik said. "It's hard to put a positive spin on it."
Krejcik said online gaming revenue this year in New Jersey, where casinos run gambling sites, "will come in below the most conservative estimates out there," about $140 million. Projections were as high as $1.2 billion, he said.
The state Gaming Commission — whose chairman, Stephen Crosby, called a forum in March to discuss online gambling, saying "the time is now" to discuss legalizing it — said the AGA decision does not change its posture.
"The AGA's decision to withdraw from discussions regarding online gaming reinforces the commission's position on this topic," the commission said in a statement. "The commission believes that a slow and deliberate approach to this issue is the most responsible way to move forward given the significant varying opinions on this matter."
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