Gov. Chris Christie is asking President Donald Trump and Congress not to ban internet gambling in the United States.

Christie signed a bill Friday calling on Congress not to enact a nationwide ban on internet gambling.

Online bets have helped revive Atlantic City's struggling casino industry, which has seen five of its 12 casinos go out of business in the last three years.

New Jersey’s online gambling revenue rose 21 percent in 2016. It was the first time the state’s gambling revenue went up in three years.

“Gov. Christie has a twofold reason: to help save Atlantic City, and to rejuvenate Atlantic City under his watch, and second of all, to bring tax revenues in,” says Rutgers Newark economics professor Arthur Guarino.”

Guarino says that other states may be lobbying for a ban on internet gambling in the country because of New Jersey.

“Let’s say in Nevada they are worried about the competition they might be getting in New Jersey, so they want to either stop online gambling or minimize it,” Guarino says.

But could online betting help places like Meadowlands Racetrack, which has lobbied for its own right to have a casino? The track's chairman says no.

“When we went to internet gaming in horse racing we got destroyed,” says Jeff Gural. “Ninety percent of our wagering is done over the internet. Only 10 percent is people coming to the racetrack.”

Gural says that his entities get money from online bets, but it's not enough to make up for fewer people at his tracks.

“I don't know how any politician could possibly think it's a good idea that people should be able to play slot machines from their bedroom,” Gural says.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said he wants to take a second look at a Justice Department ruling authorizing internet gambling, and several measures have been proposed but not enacted.

President Trump previously owned a casino in New Jersey. The Trump Taj Mahal closed its doors earlier this year.