Louis Wheeler
The state of New Jersey is the premier online gambling destination in the United States. Revenues generated in the Garden State currently dwarf the GGR (Gross Gambling Revenue) of all other states combined. Online casino legislation was greenlighted by then Governor Chris Christie back in 2013. To date, 16 online casinos currently operate legally in the state, including the following online casinos and their land-based partners:
- 888 in partnership with Caesars (2013)
- Party Casino in partnership with Borgata (2013)
- Caesars Casino Online in partnership with Caesars (2013)
- Borgata Online Casino in partnership with Borgata (2013)
- Harrah’s Online Casino in partnership with Caesars (2013)
- Virgin Online Casino in partnership with Tropicana (2013)
- Tropicana Online Casino in partnership with the Tropicana (2013)
- Betfair New Jersey online casino in partnership with Golden Nugget (2013)
- Golden Nugget Online Casino in partnership with the Golden Nugget (2013)
- Pala Online Casino in partnership with Borgata (2015)
- Resorts Online Casino in partnership with Resorts (2015)
- Mohegan Sun Online in partnership with Resorts (2015)
- PokerStars New Jersey casino in partnership with Resorts (2016)
- Sugarhouse Online Casino in partnership with the Golden Nugget (2016)
- Scores Online Casino in partnership with Borgata (2017)
- PlayMGM Casino in partnership with the Borgata (2017)
Table of Contents
The Role of the DGE in New Jersey
The DGE is the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. This is the regulator for all land-based casinos in Atlantic City, and all NJ online casino partners working with them. The gaming commission has the final say on gambling activity in the Garden State.
Its wide-ranging list of duties and responsibilities include the issuing of licenses in the state, self-exclusion functions from online gambling and land-based casinos, audits of gambling activity, and compliance-related issues. The NJ DGE ensures that player accounts are segregated to protect against bankruptcy, liquidation, and claims against online casino operators. The operational cash flow has no bearing on layer funds.
The DGE mandates that all online gaming activity is restricted to the geographic boundaries of the state of New Jersey. Additionally, players must be physically present in New Jersey to play at an online casino. Valid ID is required including legal names and addresses and date of birth.
The legal gambling age in the state of New Jersey, is 21. SSNs (Social Security numbers), tax forms and other forms of government ID may be needed to prevent underage gambling and validate player information. Atlantic City-based casinos cannot offer their services to players in neighboring states, unless there is an interstate gambling compact in force. Player locations are verified by crosschecking of Internet protocol addresses, mapping of local wireless connections, and cellular data. These strict measures ensure that players cannot cheat the system.
New Online Casinos and Poker Rooms in New Jersey
In 2019, several additional online casinos may be opening their virtual doors to players across the Garden State. These include the much-anticipated Hard Rock online casino and poker room. Recall that the Hard Rock recently purchased the Trump Taj Mahal, and there are plans to launch online casino operations in tandem with the land-based debut. There is also talk of TEN/Revel online casino launching in New Jersey. While there are no precise launch dates listed as yet, industry insiders believe that the online casinos will launch before the end of Q2, 2018.
One of the bugbears in the infancy stages of online casino gaming in New Jersey was payment processing. Fortunately, state law has made it much easier for players to process payments. For example, the range of payment options includes ACH transfers, debit cards, credit cards (Visa and MasterCard), online banking transfers, PayPal, Skrill, prepaid cards, wire transfers, and Neteller.
Typically, the odds of playing at online casinos are better than those of playing at the land-based equivalents. The reasoning is clear: land-based casinos have higher fixed costs of operations. Online casinos do not have expensive machines to maintain, or teams of wait staff, engineers, housekeepers, maintenance personnel etc. They can afford to offer higher payouts on games to players in New Jersey.
Which New Jersey Online Poker Rooms Lead the List?
Online poker is a laggard in terms of revenue generation in the online gaming industry. However, it contributes millions of dollars every year to New Jersey state coffers and remains a viable component of gaming activity. While PokerStars dominates the scene, Borgata Poker, Party Poker and WSOP/888 Poker are close in tow. Players at New Jersey’s online poker rooms can enjoy a full range of SNGs, MTTs, cash games, Texas Holdem, Omaha Hi, Omaha Hi-Lo and other games direct from their Mac, PC, Android and iOS devices. It is entirely possible for players across the US to make deposits at New Jersey poker rooms in online casinos, however real money play is only possible in the state of New Jersey.
New Jersey Online Poker Blows Aware Delaware
Delaware boasts a population of just 945,000 people (2015 figures), but its revenues from online poker remain significantly below that of New Jersey, at just $231,000. Online poker net revenue for December 2017 was $18,261, encompassing Harrington, Dover Downs, and Delaware Park. Poker rake accounted for 8.7% of all online gaming winnings during December, while table games made up 19.1%.
Video lottery games accounted for 72.2% of online gaming revenues in Delaware. The large drop in December is disconcerting to the online gambling industry in the state. The online casino revenues dropped 56% year on year, and for the year in 2017, online gambling was down 18%. In total, online casinos operating in Delaware generated just $2.39 million in 2017. However, it should be remembered that Delaware has not featured prominently in the poker arena. Only a single player from the state has won more than $1 million over his career, Abraham Korotki.
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With digital marketing strategies in his blood, Louis Wheeler has traveled around the world, exploring gambling cultures and gaining experience in casino games from 2003. If you are in a casino anywhere around the planet, you may find him right next to you, playing blackjack, roulette or texas hold'em.