Official Launch of New Jersey Online Gambling Tomorrow

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Monday, November 25th, 2013 | Written by Shane Larson

While many Americans will spend this week dreaming of the turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie they are going to indulge in on Thanksgiving this Thursday, New Jersey residents have an entirely new diversion to captivate their interests.

Tomorrow marks the official start of regulated online betting in the Garden State, with the 5 day soft launch period that got started on November 21 wrapping up today.

New Jersey third state to permit iGaming

Though New Jersey is actually the third state in the nation to launch a regulated online gambling market – as well as the third in the U.S. to pass legislation making such web sites legal – it is by far the most populous to do so.

With its nine million residents, New Jersey enjoys a much larger population base than the other two states that have also enacted similar laws. Nevada, the first state to offer legal real money online poker to its citizenry, has a population of less than three million; the second, Delaware, has less than one million people living within its borders.

In Nevada, only online poker is allowed, with two sites thus far in operation – Ultimate Poker, which launched in April, and Caesars’ WSOP.com, which went live in September. WSOP.com is the only Nevada site that provides a platform so that residents can play real money online poker using a Mac.

By contrast, in New Jersey and Delaware a variety of wagers can be placed. Bettors there have the option to play virtual versions of classic casino games as well as the game of online poker.

One distinction between Delaware and New Jersey is that in Delaware, the brand-new Internet betting market is controlled by the Delaware State Lottery, which appointed 888 and Scientific Games to oversee the platforms and site operations. New Jersey requires that all online gambling sites be tied to land-based casino properties in its gambling capitol, Atlantic City.

Large population has led to speculation about strength of market

Part of the reason New Jersey’s iGaming launch has received the large amount of press that it has is owing to its large population, which may have the capability to provide a much broader player base than in either Delaware or Nevada.

At this time, however, it is impossible to predict if the New Jersey online gambling market will have the impact that has been predicted. Though it remains to be seen if players will greet the nascent marketplace with enthusiasm, it is fair to say that Atlantic City casinos and online gambling operators are thrilled that the beginning of real money online betting in New Jersey has finally come.

Ben Carter, who is the digital director of International gaming company Betfair, which is partnered with the Trump Plaza in its New Jersey venture said, “New Jersey is a massive opportunity because New Jersey has obviously taken a decision to enable regulated operators to offer casino games and poker, and for us it’s the start of something very, very exciting.”