New Jersey has made quite a few headlines in recent times because of their break with the ranks of the federal government on many gambling issues that the latter has been trying to sweep under the rug. This has put New Jersey at the head of a small but growing group of states that are starting to take a closer look at some of these issues.

The latest news out of the Garden State is that a committee of four State Senators have approved a bill that would legalize sports betting at many of the different places across the state. The bill was approved unanimously 4-0 and will now need to head to the main Senate for a full vote. Raymond Lesniak, the man responsible for sponsoring the bill in the first place, appears to be quite confident about the chances for success rising from such a vote.

Although there are still many ideological and legal battles to be fought before these regulations can actually take effect, it appears as though many more New Jersey lawmakers are lining up behind this bill than when it was discussed at previous points in time. The main difference appears to be the state of the economy around the world which is now forcing people to take a closer look at finding new sources of revenue for state budgets that are almost universally in debt these days.

According to recent estimates made by the Press of Atlantic City, it is quite possible that the legalization of sports betting could bring in $100 million or more for the state coffers and generate five times that amount for the private businesses that would be running the services such as racetracks and casinos around the state.

In light of the recent success of this legislative effort, the next question that has naturally been asked is whether or not this could lead to revisiting the issue of intrastate online gambling. While nothing firm exists on that front as of yet, the mood coming from the legislators is that anything is possible giving the current political and financial climate.