‘On premises’ mobile gambling for race tracks

The ‘on premises’ use of mobile hand held devices provided by land casinos is already well-established in Las Vegas (see previous InfoPowa reports), but the practice is about to be extended to New Jersey land casinos and racetracks with two bills currently moving through the state legislature.

Assembly Bill 2575 sponsored by New Jersey General Assembly Representatives John Burzichelli and Ruben Ramos would allow casinos in Atlantic City to offer hand-held gaming devices. It has been approved by both New Jersey Senate and General Assembly committees and is expected to soon become the subject of full votes.

The lesser known but similar proposal to do the same for racetracks is Assembly Bill 2610 sponsored by Rep. Ronald Dancer, who wants to see mobile gaming devices permitted in all indoor and outdoor areas of racetracks including designated areas of the Meadowlands complex subject to agreements with facility operators and approvals from the New Jersey Racing Commission.

“With this innovation, horse race fans could place a bet and collect their winnings faster, all without leaving their seats,” Dancer claims.

“Allowing racetracks to take advantage of the technology that has transformed our daily lives will improve the experience for fans and give New Jersey facilities a competitive edge over other states competing for a share of the horseracing market.”

The Republican politician says the devices could also be used to check on the outcome of races and give punters betting information, while the live viewing of contests on iPad and iPhone handsets is also a possibility.

“Horseracing had missed an entire generation of dot-com users and electronic mobile gaming devices should be a sure bet to expand the sport’s fan base,” Dancer claims.