New Jersey has long been known as one of the top gambling destinations in the United States, for both domestic and international tourists. Many different forms of gambling are legal in New Jersey, and revenue from these activities has contributed significantly to the economy of the state. In recent months, profit has skyrocketed and led to record-breaking highs of $526.6 million in March, which is an impressive 8.1% increase.
Gambling Trends in New Jersey
Lots of kinds of gambling are popular in New Jersey, but there is one in particular that the state has to thank for the considerable rise in revenue over the past month – iGaming. Online casino games in particular reached a new month-on-month record, hitting $197.2 million, which is an increase of 19.9%, whilst online slot machines made up $194.8 million of total earnings, an improvement of 19.4%. Although land-based casinos still make up a higher proportion of the total revenue, iGaming is coming at a very close second, and some experts are predicting that it could even overtake in the upcoming months.
Not every element of iGaming was as successful in generating revenue as online casinos, however. Money made from online poker dropped by 5.4% to $2.4 million. In addition to the casinos that are accounted for in the official figures, there are other online gambling providers that are secure and licensed, but provide anonymity to players. According to Callum Turner from bestanonymouscasinos.com, these sites provide safe, anonymous payments through cryptos like BTC, ETH, and LTC, and are primarily licenced by the Curacao eGaming Authority, instead of NJ’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, meaning their revenue from NJ players isn’t counted in the aforementioned data.
A more recently legalized form of gambling in New Jersey is sports betting, which was introduced into the state in 2018. Although still very popular amongst residents, revenue dropped to $89.7 million, which is a decrease of 3.6%. It’s not all negative though; the earnings were still $67.6 million more than February’s amount! In terms of year-on-year updates, sportsbook users spent 36.6% more, which is a total of $1.33 billion. The vast majority of this amount was spent at online sportsbooks, with only $43.8 million being spent at a retail location.
From looking at these figures, it’s clear that the people of New Jersey are embracing iGaming. In comparison to visiting a bricks-and-mortar casino, online gambling is much more convenient and accessible, suiting those with busier lifestyles. Players can place bets from their homes, workplaces, or whilst on the move. Many online casino providers also offer their users attractive bonuses or rewards, whilst added incentives like these are definitely not as common in a retail casino location. What’s more, graphics and technology have come a long way, even since iGaming in NJ was legalized in 2013, which has definitely added to the allure of online gambling. The gameplay is so advanced these days that playing casino games from a mobile device can provide an immersive experience, akin to playing in-person.
Current NJ Gambling Laws
As of 2024, the legal forms of gambling in New Jersey include the state lottery, horse racing, retail casinos, online gambling as of 2013, and sports betting as of 2018. There are twelve casinos in NJ, each of which is regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. The minimum age requirement for any type of gambling in New Jersey is 21, which is higher than some other states that permit sports or horse betting from as young as 18. Since iGaming was made legal in 2013, more and more of the NJ population have taken full advantage of the online crypto casinos, online sportsbooks, and other sites that are on offer.
There is speculation that the gambling laws in New Jersey could be set to change soon, after operators were informed that there may be a tax increase for online gambling. Senator John McKeon recently introduced a bill that, if passed, would set taxes for sports betting and iGaming at 30%, which is a considerable increase. At the moment, iGaming is taxed at 15% of gross gaming revenue (GGR), and sports betting is taxed at 13%. Lots of gaming providers have been questioning exactly what this tax hike means for their business, and unsurprisingly the bill is not popular with most of them. To lawmakers in NJ, the increase could prove beneficial, as it would contribute millions of dollars each year to the state ledger.
Senator McKeon has claimed that the tax rates in New Jersey are “not commensurate with where everybody else is”, referring to states such as Pennsylvania, which has a 36% tax, or New York, where the tax rate is a steep 51%. With the record-breaking highs that iGaming has brought into New Jersey, the tax hike would bring in considerably more money that could then be used for improving the state. There are also hopes amongst senators and casino operators that the higher taxes will not negatively impact the affordability or accessibility of their services to residents. Mckeon shared that when looking to add money to the state ledger, he was searching for “areas that wouldn’t take money out of the pocket of hard-working New Jerseyans”, and that the lucrative iGaming market was the ideal place to increase taxes.
