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NJ online gambling sites: Background
New Jersey’s online gambling history is a short and well-chronicled one. For decades, Atlantic City was the premier gambling destination on the East Coast. It essentially served as the Las Vegas of the east.
But as the rest of the country loosened their attitude toward regulated land-based gambling, the fortunes of Atlantic City began to suffer. There was the weight of increased competition from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, New York, and Delaware.
The result was a long decline in local gambling revenue for New Jersey. This situation was exacerbated by the continued addition of casinos in Atlantic City. And it certainly wasn’t helped by the massive economic downturn of the mid-2000s.
Those conditions provided the recipe for online gambling to enter the conversation in New Jersey. With the hope that regulating online poker and online casino games might provide a competitive advantage for New Jersey’s casinos — while also providing a financial boost to the state — then-Gov. Chris Christie and other NJ lawmakers worked together to pass a bill that legalized NJ online gambling sites offered by licensed AC casinos in 2013.
That hope was born out in the years that followed. In fact, in 2016 NJ’s online casinos powered the state to the first year of casino revenue gains in a decade. Without revenue from online gambling sites, Atlantic City’s casinos would have continued a years-long slide. Hence, bringing casinos online in New Jersey has proven a wise decision. And as a result, both casinos and tax collectors have benefited to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.
Bottom line: Online gambling in Atlantic City has helped New Jersey’s casino industry recover from the most challenging period in New Jersey gambling history.
NJ online gambling law
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) oversees NJ online casinos. In order to offer legal online casino play in New Jersey, a casino must, among other things:
- Hold a valid Internet Gaming Permit (issued by the NJDGE).
- Submit all games and systems for audit by the NJDGE.
- Ensure that only players located within the state of New Jersey at the time of play are able to access real-money games.
- Ensure that only players 21 and older are able to access real-money games.
- Pay a 15 percent tax on gross gaming revenues to the state of New Jersey.
- Pay a variety of additional taxes and fees (e.g., responsible gambling, license fee).
- Allow for complete financial auditing of all funds flowing in and out of the site.
You can view the full text of the regulations governing online gambling in New Jersey here. All NJ online gambling sites are subject to these regulations and additional oversight by the NJDGE.
NJ online casino list: Identifying licensed NJ online casinos
Why do you need a list of NJ online casinos? Simple. It’s because there are still plenty of online casinos out there pretending to be safe and legal. And if you’re not careful, it’s difficult to know the difference between the legal NJ online casinos and those that are based offshore.
With offshore online casinos, you don’t know what you’re getting — the games may not be fair and your money may not be safe.
But with licensed NJ online casinos, you can enjoy the comfort of knowing that the sites are regulated by the exact same body — the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement. This means you know who is accountable if there’s a problem with your account.
Here is the list of legal NJ online gambling sites (casino and poker). These sites have been verified with the NJDGE as of 2017.
NJ legal online casino and only poker list
- Betfair online casino (New Jersey)
- Borgata online casino and online poker
- Caesars online casino
- Golden Nugget online casino
- Harrah’s online casino
- Mohegan Sun online casino
- Partypoker online casino and online poker (New Jersey)
- Pala online casino
- PokerStars online casino and online poker
- Resorts online casino
- SugarHouse online casino
- Tropicana online casino
- Virgin online casino (New Jersey)
- WSOP online poker (New Jersey)
- 888 online casino and online poker (New Jersey)
As for the best online NJ casino, you can browse our reviews and details of opening bonuses here. But all licensed NJ casino online gambling sites are the same when it comes to safety, security, game fairness, and account integrity.
What are the latest updates from NJ gambling sites?
NJ gambling sites are still offering very generous sign-up and deposit bonuses. And on top of that, players now have even more games to explore.
Leading the charge is Golden Nugget, which expanded its industry-leading game library to more than 500 games. The most notable new release is an exclusive from Konami, entitled Wings of the Phoenix.
Not to mention, Golden Nugget, along with Betfair Casino, expanded their popular Live Dealer offerings, having recently added another blackjack table. Golden Nugget also launched its first live dealer poker game, Casino Hold ‘Em.
In other news, a new site entered the fray. Pala Poker made its debut in June 2017, launching with a lucrative $50 sign-up bonus (now $40 sign-up bonus). Pala is the only New Jersey operator to support poker, casino, and bingo games.
The latest casino to enter the NJ online gambling site market? MGM, owners of the Borgata, opened their online casino site and poker room for business in July 2017. Expect to see Hard Rock AC and Ocean Resort Casino, AC’s newest in-the-works casinos, to launch their online sites sometime in 2018.
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The focus of our coverage at NJ Gambling Sites
Our coverage touches on a variety of topics having to do with online and land-based gambling in NJ. There are a few key issues that form the basis of the majority of our coverage, listed below in no particular order.
Financial performance of NJ online casinos
Our coverage includes a detailed analysis of the regularly-released information regarding the financial performance of the online casinos and online poker sites operating legally in New Jersey.
We go beyond the NJ online gambling numbers to provide depth and context. We report not only the numbers for NJ online gambling site revenue but what those numbers mean for individual casinos and the broader regulated market for NJ casino online gambling.
The interaction of online and land-based casinos
Companies licensed to operate land-based casinos are the only entities that can hold licenses to operate online gambling sites in NJ. While some Atlantic City casinos partner with other brands to offer NJ online gambling sites, there is always an Atlantic City casino holding the ultimate license to operate online betting in NJ.
As a result, what happens in one industry usually has a direct effect on the trajectory of the other. This means that keeping tabs on developments in Atlantic City is a critical part of staying up-to-date and informed about the online gambling industry in New Jersey.
Related:
The broader political climate for gambling in NJ
The decision to regulate online gambling is far from the last political decision regarding gambling in the Garden State. The gambling industry in NJ is interconnected, as mentioned above. Any news that’s relevant to the land-based side matters to the online side as well, at least to some degree.
For example, the state of NJ was at one point locked in a pitched debate regarding the concept of expanding casino gambling outside of Atlantic City. That development, if it had come to pass, would’ve held significant implications for regulated online gambling. And, depending who won the new licenses to operate in other parts of NJ and how said licenses were handled, there could have been an expansion of the number of online gambling sites.
If an Atlantic City operator is harmed by the new competition from additional casinos, support would have shifted. However, voters turned down any idea of a casino expansion in 2017, effectively making the subject moot.
That’s just a quick example to make the central point. The gambling industry in NJ is effectively one industry, even though it’s easy to imagine a delineation between land-based and online gambling.
Product and promotional developments at NJ online gambling sites
The online gambling product in NJ is constantly evolving. New online poker sites open and online casinos add new game variants. Additionally, operators continue to roll out a steady stream of promotions and bonuses in an attempt to entice players to sign up or switch brands.
These are all touchstones for understanding the general health and trajectory of regulated online gambling in the Garden State. As a result, we devote a significant amount of our NJ regulated online gambling site coverage to stories focused on how the product — on both the online poker and online casino front — is evolving to meet the changing demands, tastes, and interest levels of NJ gamblers.
Safety and security concerns surrounding online gambling in NJ
Finally, we devote a significant amount of our NJ online gambling coverage to the critical topics of safety and security.
One of the core advantages of a regulated online gambling environment is that players can take comfort in knowing that a regulator is watching NJ’s online poker and casino games to ensure that everything is on the up-and-up. Regulators are also available to help mediate consumer issues or other complaints. Additionally, systems are in place to prevent unauthorized access by underage or out of state players. These and other topics are an important piece of the larger puzzle of NJ’s online gambling industry.