Is Online Gambling Legal In New Jersey?
Online gambling is entirely legal in New Jersey. As long as you’re above the age of 21 and in the state, you can place bets online. Many online gambling websites, including Borgata Casino, PointsBet, FanDuel, Unibet, and BetMGM, are currently serving players in the state. Also, there are various kinds of gambling activities players can engage in, such as online casino games, online sports betting, mini casino games, lottery, online poker, and fantasy sports. We have broken down the different categories of online gambling that you will find in New Jersey below.
Online Casinos
Online casinos became legal in New Jersey when Gov. Chris Christie passed the New Jersey Casino Control Act bill in 2011. Although it was not until 2013 before the first set of online casinos began to operate in the state, the number of licensed NJ online casinos has increased massively. Now, there are several options that you can pick from when you want to start playing casino games.
You need to register at any of the authorized online casinos[2] to get started. However, you must be above 21 and physically present in the state to do that (New Jersey Casino Control Act and Regulations, 2013). The New Jersey Casino Control Act continued to serve as the state’s online casino regulation and guideline.
To ensure that the regulation stands, Gov. Chris Christie and the NJ lawmakers made sure that only casinos under the state’s jurisdiction can provide online gambling services to players in New Jersey. In that case, you cannot place bets on offshore online casinos because licenses are not granted to these kinds of casinos. Therefore, we have witnessed some online and land-based casinos partner up to ensure they don’t miss out on providing online casino gaming to NJ players.
The state went with a synchronized launch to ensure that the first casinos would begin with an equal footing. As a result, a specific launch date was set, and every prospective brand was required to meet a fixed deadline. By November 2013, the first brands, including Trump Plaza, Borgata, Harrah’s, Tropicana, Caesars, and the Trump Taj Mahal, got their casino licenses (New Jersey Casino Licensing, 2013) to commence operation.
Online Sports Betting
Although online gambling was already legal in New Jersey, it wasn’t until 2018 before online sports betting became legal when Governor Phil Murphy signed the Sports Wagering bill[1]. Since 2018, we have seen an influx of sports betting sites in NJ. As a result, players now have a massive collection of sportsbooks to choose from.
The legal age to participate in NJ online sports betting is the same as playing at online casinos. You must be 21 years of age or more before you are eligible to place sports bets. Additionally, although you do not have to be a resident of NJ before you can play, you need to be physically present in the state to play in any New Jersey sportsbook. The Sports Wagering Law oversees the operations of online sportsbooks in the state, and every licensed sports betting site has to follow the regulations and guidelines (Sports Wagering Law, 2018).
Although Gov. Murphy signed the bill in June 2018, players in New Jersey had to wait until August before the first set of sportsbooks arrived in the state. At the time, DraftKings, BetMGM, and PlaySugarHouse were the sports betting brands available. However, since September 2018, we have seen many sportsbooks, such as FanDuel, PointsBet, William Hill, Fox Bet, and 888 SportNJ, join the train of brands offering sports betting in the state.
Horse Betting
Horse race betting was legalized in January 2012 after the Casino Control Act bill was signed in November 2011 by Gov. Christie. Although not until 2018, when Gov. Murphy signed the Sports Wagering bill, you could only place bets on horse racing in person. As a result of the sports wagering law, New Jersey became the first state to legalize fixed-odds horse race betting.
As it stands, NJ remains the only state to do so. In that case, you can join any of the various online sportsbooks licensed in the state to start placing bets on your favorite horses. Note that you must be at least 21 years old before you can place horse race bets online in NJ. In New Jersey, the Sports Wagering law regulates all sports betting activities, including horse race betting.
In that case, all sportsbooks or exchange betting platforms offering horse betting need to follow the guidelines and rules in the law. In addition to that, the law allows residents of NJ to place bets on horse racing events across the state, even if they are not physically present in the state.
Daily Fantasy Sports
Daily Fantasy Sports or DFS is a subset of Fantasy Sports, where players build fantasy teams using real-life athletes. In Fantasy Sports, players compete against each other by creating a team of professional athletes from a single league or competition using the fictional money provided by the platform. The players earn points based on the real-life statistical performance of their athletes in the league or tournaments.
DFS shares most of the attributes of standard Fantasy Sports; unlike Fantasy Sports, it does not require long-term commitments. DFS tournaments last only for a shorter time. In most cases, it only takes a few hours. Playing DFS requires a lot of skill and in-depth knowledge of the sports you want to enter.
Although there is a chance of winning real cash, it is quite different from regular sports betting. In addition, DFS is still relatively new, especially in New Jersey, as it was just legalized in 2017. So, we expect to see more updates to ensure that it remains relevant and continues to exist.
Lottery
Playing the lottery in New Jersey is one of the oldest legal gambling activities in the state. Players have been trying their luck since the New Jersey Lottery was formed in 1969, and we have seen many winners over the years. Although residents of New Jersey have been buying lottery tickets for a long time, it wasn’t until January 2011 when a Senator Raymond Lesniak-sponsored bill was signed (Internet Gambling, 2011).
Now, all residents and nonresidents living in the state of New Jersey can go online to visit the NJ Lottery website to try their luck. Simply create an account, and follow the instructions thoroughly to avoid any issues. Once you do so, you can start playing the lottery online!
