Online gambling is supposed to be the new job creator for Atlantic City, with online companies promising hundreds, if not thousands, of new employees will fill the ranks. But unlike the cocktail servers, bartenders, blackjack dealers, cooks, housekeepers and other service-oriented positions that have dominated the casino industry in the past, many of these new jobs will be in information technology.
PokerStars, Bwin.party, 888 Holdings, 2UP Gaming and other major Web companies that operate gambling sites overseas are preparing to enter the New Jersey online gambling market when it goes live. November 26th is the scheduled start-up date. Some of those companies are talking effusively about the number of new jobs they plan to create, while others are taking a more cautious approach. However, all of them insist Internet gambling’s potential for job growth is not mere hype.
“All of the jobs I’m talking about are absolutely New Jersey jobs,” said William J. Pascrell III, a state lobbyist who represents PokerStars. Pascrell said job growth was a key factor in getting the Legislature and Gov. Chris Christie to support online gambling. The governor signed the legislation in February, allowing New Jersey to join Nevada and Delaware as the only states so far to legalize online wagering.
“That (job growth) was a major impetus for the sponsors in the Legislature. In addition, I believe that is what brought us over the goal line for Gov. Christie,” said Pascrell, who was part of the lobbying efforts for Internet gambling. The extra jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in projected new revenue that online gambling would bring are needed as Atlantic City continues to lose market share to casinos in surrounding states.
