Over the past decade a lot has changed in New Jersey when it comes to online gambling activity. The most notable development started in 2013 and gradually led to the creation of the best New Jersey online casinos. The US in general has somewhat strict laws when it comes to online gambling, and basically, only sports betting and fantasy sports are permitted.
Yet that was more than enough to create one of the fastest-growing iGaming markets in the world. Still, a few states allow their citizens to play casino games on the internet for real money. Additionally, it’s really easy to find the best NJ online casinos, enjoy the most recent games, and take advantage of their bonus offers. So, let’s see how New Jersey became such an important place for internet gambling entertainment.
Situation Before 2013
Due to various legislative restrictions, NJ online casino sites could not exist, before the year 2013. The main reasons were The Federal Wire Act and The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. However, Fantasy sports, skill games, and lotteries were excluded from UIGEA.
This resulted in some of the best online casinos in New Jersey leaving the US market and those who didn’t were shut down in 2011 for violating UIGEA. It’s worth pointing out that US citizens could still access some of the gambling websites but these were a part of illegal offshore operations. Just two years later there were big changes on the legal front and the best online NJ casino sites were ready to get back in business.
Main Events in 2013
In early 2013, the government of New Jersey signed a bill that authorizes licensing for iGaming or internet gambling businesses. They did this in partnership with Atlantic City casinos. This law was pushed and vetoed several times since 2010, and once it was fine-tuned it finally passed. In July, these gambling parlors applied for a license and set out to launch the best online casino NJ has to offer today. These were some of the most notable operators on the NJ online casino list:
- Borgata
- Golden Nugget
- Caesars
- Tropicana
In November more than 10 gambling platforms had a soft launch and they included 6 poker room sites. Then at the end of the same month, some of the currently best NJ online casinos received permission to operate 24/7. By the end of 2013 there were 100 thousand active accounts, and taking into consideration that these platforms were operating for less than 2 months that was truly impressive.
2014-2016
Operators kicked things into high gear during early 2014. Poker sites were offering free wi-fi, and everyone was set on getting as many mobile users as possible. Even a few online poker tournaments were held in early 2014, and at the end of January, we got the first progressive jackpot winner. At the start of February 2014, the number of users grew by 50,000 across all members of the NJ online casinos list.
In March new payment options became available, as the best online casino New Jersey sites began to collaborate with e-wallets. However, there were still some problems with using these payment methods for withdrawal. This rapid change had a big impact on other industries. There were mergers of gambling companies, but payment operators also started to expand and acquire their competitors. The number of gamblers grew by over half a million, but due to fierce competition, some operators just dropped out of the race and closed down.
Live Dealer Games
In order to effectively compete with one another, operators had to innovate. In 2016, a brand new feature appeared called live dealer games, which gave users a chance to experience more authentic gameplay. The first one to add live dealer games was Golden Nugget It proved extremely popular and soon other sites on the New Jersey online casinos list followed the example. The first one to join Golden Nugget was Betfair but it took almost a full year before this content became available on other sites.
Conclusion
New Jersey was the first state to make online gambling legal. It definitely served as an example to other states who were thinking about legalizing it as well. Pennsylvania and Delaware were among the first to follow, and new poker rooms started popping up there. The desire for internet casino games was already there, as people were massively gambling on illegal sites. The reason NJ became the center of that activity is that they were the ones to legalize it first. That being said, apart from fantasy sports and betting, online casino games are only legal in 6 states.