New Jersey Gaming Officials Confirm November 26 Online Gambling Launch

The self-proclaimed Gambling Capital of the East Coast includes twelve brick-and-mortar casinos in the Garden State, and is ready to launch virtual gambling operations just in time for the holiday season in New Jersey. That state legalized online gambling in 2012 along with Nevada and Delaware, and is now prepared to recoup much of the market share that has drifted over to New York, Pennsylvania and other nearby locations. Physical casino revenue has seen a substantial drop in the last couple of years in NJ, and by delivering a virtual gambling experience accessible by any resident or visitor, the state hopes to cash in on what is by all estimates going to be a multimillion dollar industry in that state alone, and a multibillion dollar industry across the US. The state officials are placing quite a bit of hope on New Jersey online casinos, and most industry professionals expect it to pay off big for them.

Also, New Jersey recently passed some forward thinking legislation which would allow it to partner up with other US states that legalize online gambling. This could significantly expand the size of the player pool accessible via the Internet for the Atlantic City casinos which have been legislated to offer virtual gambling. Nine of the twelve New Jersey casinos, all located near the oceanfront boardwalk of Atlantic City, have already taken the necessary steps to offer virtual gambling in an online casino format. Players must physically be located somewhere in New Jersey, with their current location verified by URL address identification and GPS tracking technologies. Those physical casinos have teamed up with software companies with years of experience in providing online gambling, so New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) officials are looking for a smooth launch.

To guarantee this, a "soft play" opening of gambling will take place from November 21 through November 26 at 9 AM, when official online gambling will be released as a viable product in New Jersey to all eligible players. Soft play gamblers will be chosen by invitation only, but the DGE has promised an extensive and thorough testing of the new online gambling experience. Legislators recently released the final draft of regulations which will control and govern real money online gambling in New Jersey, and the DGE is in the process of listing all the online gambling providers on the state's official website. Trump Entertainment Resorts CEO Robert Griffin expects "a significant revenue stream" from the two Atlantic City casinos his company owns and operates.

With four properties and a full one third of the physical casino market in New Jersey, Caesars Entertainment has a lot at stake in this virtual marketplace, so the company decided to partner with 888 Holdings for its Internet gambling experience. 888 Holdings is a worldwide leader in delivering online gambling, so Caesars can probably count on a smooth rollout from that company. The Golden Nugget Atlantic City, the two Trump casinos and the Taj Mahal Casino Resort will all be offering a legitimate online gambling experience in New Jersey, though DGE officials have stated not all of the nine licensed online casinos will be a part of the initial rollout.

No guidance was given as to which virtual casinos will be available on the launch date of November 26, and we will supply that information here as soon as it is available. Obviously, residents and visitors of New Jersey who enjoy some responsible, adult gambling are excited to know that the launch of Internet gambling in that state is just around the corner. But job seekers in that state and legislators hoping for a financial windfall will also benefit. While New Jersey is not the first state to officially deliver Internet gambling in the United States since the Department of Justice web gambling reversal in December of 2011, they already own the reputation as the most popular East Coast casino destination. And with web casino gambling being added to that physical presence, Atlantic City and the rest of the Garden State on November 26 will usher in a new wave of gambling technology on the East Coast.