According to a report, Meadowlands Racetrack operator Jeff Gural is not pleased about a Monday, December 17 vote in the New Jersey Assembly which passed an online casino gaming bill on to the State Senate.

An article by John Brennan in The Record explains that the Assembly passed the bill at a count of 48-25.

The bill calls for residents of New Jersey that are of legal gambling age to be able to play online casino games from Atlantic City-based servers anywhere in the state.

When asked for his opinion on the bill, Gural said that he didn't think those that voted in favour of the measure had thought it out. He also characterized the bill as the 'Casino Worker Unemployment Act.'

Citing how legalized online wagering has affected the horse-racing industry, Gural said that casino operators should be learning from it. “We tried this, and now our racetracks are empty,” he said, adding later that he understands that "the casino owners see this as an opportunity, because if people do this online, [the operators] won’t have to buy more machines, and they won’t have to pay someone to clean them, either.”

Brennan does state in his article that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed a similar bill last year, and that the Senate is 'expected' to vote on the bill this Thursday (December 20).

Gural has also told Brennan that he is fine with a bill which is currently in Congress in regard to internet poker, solely because he sees poker as a 'game of choice,' unlike slots.

(With files from The Record)