The Story of New Jersey Online Gambling Legalization

The New Jersey online gambling industry is one of the most established in the nation and brings in billions of dollars of revenue each year. But it wasn’t always this way. In this guide, you’ll learn about the Garden State’s speedy rise to providing some of the best online gambling options in the USA.

To get this guide started, we’ve provided an overview of online gambling in New Jersey. Then, we continued by discussing the interesting history of how the online market came to be. To make this as easy as possible to read, we’ve created a timeline of the most important events in NJ gambling legalization.

Our guide to the history of online gambling in the state also discusses the current state of the market, with a special focus on online casinos in NJ. We’ve also provided some information on the state’s gaming regulator responsible for providing licenses.

• Online Gambling in NJ
• The History of NJ Gambling Legalization
• Timeline of Important Dates
• Legal Online Gambling Options
• About the Industry
• Meet the Regulator

Online Gambling in NJ – An Overview

The story of how New Jersey online gambling came to be is a long and interesting one. It all begins with the state’s foray into creating a legal land-based casino industry in Atlantic City. Since then, state government and local citizens have embraced gambling expansion, often long before any other state.

Now, online gambling in New Jersey benefits from having the most gaming options available, whether it be eSports betting or online poker. The market continues to innovate and is a trendsetter for other jurisdictions to follow. It also has some of the strongest regulations to ensure gaming quality and player safety.

The History of Online Gambling in New Jersey

Although all forms of gambling were outlawed in New Jersey by 1939, many flouted the laws and the city was home to a thriving underground sports betting and casino industry. It wasn’t until 1939 that racetrack betting was legalized. The next major change happened in 1970 when a referendum approved a state lottery.

While a 1974 referendum to legalize casinos statewide failed, a 1976 referendum improved allowing casinos to open in Atlantic City. It became the second state after Las Vegas to legalize casino gambling, with the first casino to open in 1978. Atlantic City very quickly became a major tourist attraction.

It wouldn’t be until the 2010s that the state began to look into legalizing online gambling in NJ. By this stage, there were few other states that had considered this option. This is despite that the UK and Europe had been offering legal online casinos and sports betting since the late 90s.

In 2012, NJ gambling legislation that sought to legalize sports betting was passed. However, this was quickly shut down by a federal ban on sports betting outside of New Jersey, and the state would soon take this battle to the Supreme Court. The following year, New Jersey became the first state to legalize online casinos.

Online Gambling Law in New Jersey

The online gambling law allowed the creation of online casinos as long as they were affiliated with land-based casinos in Atlantic City. Initially, players would have to play at terminals located within licensed premises, but this was later changed to permit online gambling from anywhere in the state.

At the time, 11 casinos could apply for online casino licenses, with a 15% tax on gaming revenues applied. This was almost double the tax rate placed on land-based casinos. Included in the legal options were slot machines, virtual table games such as roulette and blackjack, and online poker.

By 2017, there were more than a dozen online casinos servicing the state. The next big advancement would come in 2018 when New Jersey’s Supreme Court sports betting challenge was successful, and opened the gates for the whole nation to introduce their own sports betting laws.

The state would launch its first sportsbooks the same year, with gambling sites affiliated with the state’s casinos and racetracks. It also officially legalized daily fantasy sports betting. Since then, more laws have been passed to expand sports betting options, and to allow top online poker sites in New Jersey to compete with operators in other legal states.

The Timeline of NJ Online Gambling Legalization

Are you looking for the key dates in the history leading up to the legalization of online gambling in New Jersey? Below, we’ve provided a timeline that covers the most important events. As you’ll find, there is a long and storied history of the legalization efforts that led to NJ becoming the largest online gambling market in the USA.

Legal Online Gambling Options

You can enjoy several options when partaking in New Jersey online gambling. If you’re an online casino fan, there are an array of classic and modern video slots to try, including games with progressive jackpots. Many of these jackpots are linked to other casinos so the prizes can increase to huge amounts.

Table games fans can play virtual versions of roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and video poker, or you can play live dealer casino games. These are titles that are played against real-life dealers streamed to your devices from local casinos. Online poker is also extremely popular in New Jersey.

Sports bettors have dozens of sportsbooks to choose from, with college and professional division games available. The only major limitation of sports betting is that you can’t wager on New Jersey college games. Pre-match and live betting is supported at all major sportsbooks. Another popular option is daily fantasy sports.

The state is one of only a few to offer legal online lottery ticket sales too. Other options include online scratch cards and horse race betting. There really is nothing that you can’t gamble on in person that isn’t available to play online in New Jersey, which is probably the reason its online gaming market is the largest in the nation.

About the Industry

In recent years, the online gambling industry in NJ has reported some of the highest profits in its 17-year history. In 2022, there was $2.5 billion wagered at online sportsbooks and casinos, with $526 million paid in taxes to the state. The online casino revenues topped $1.6 billion, marking a 21.6% growth from the previous year.

There are now 17 online casinos and 27 online sportsbooks in NJ. Interestingly, 90% of activity on these platforms has been through mobile devices, with all operators providing native apps to their users. The high rate of mobile users is thought to come from a large number of visitors coming to gamble from New York.

The minimum gambling age in the state is 21 years old, which is standard for most legal gambling jurisdictions across the USA. In order to create an account at online gambling sites, players must submit their ID and verify their age and identity. As you’ll find in the next section, the market is heavily regulated to maintain player safety.

Meet the Regulator

New Jersey online gambling and land-based gaming is regulated by the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement. This is a state-run body that is in charge of licensing and industry monitoring. It also makes recommendations to the government on new gaming laws and reports on the current state of the market.

There are many functions that the Division undertakes, but its primary concern is to maintain industry integrity and to protect the welfare of players. Before an online gambling site can be approved, it must prove that it is providing a safe, secure, and fair gaming environment that adheres to strict responsible gambling protocols.