Phil Murphy, Governor of New Jersey, has signed a bill to extend online gambling in the state through 2028. The bill was sponsored by Senators Vince Polistina and James Beach and is a middle-ground solution. The signing of the bill comes at the end of several weeks spent calling for extensions of between 2-10 years to the previous bill signed in 2013.
The new legislation is good news for poker players in the state who want to legally continue honing their skills and participating in tournaments. It also gives the state an opportunity to remain at the forefront of the evolving gambling industry in the US. After the bill was passed, Senator Polistina spoke positively about the effect the extension will have on the economy and job market in New Jersey.
Expansion of current legislation allows poker players to continue playing online in New Jersey
Poker fans in New Jersey have been legally allowed to play different formats of the game online since Governor Chris Christie signed legislation permitting Internet gambling in the state in 2013. The new extension allows people to participate in online gambling, including poker, until 2028.
Players can find regulated casinos by using resources such as this page that lists all nj online casinos, including poker-specific sites such as NJ Party Poker and US 888 Poker. Listed sites such as Golden Nugget Casino and Hard Rock Casino provide a wider gaming experience. New Jersey residents can enjoy using these sites for a further five years as a major benefit of the extension.
Casino industry in New Jersey also benefits from the new bill
Players are not the only ones to be excited by the benefits of the bill to extend Internet gambling. The casino industry in the state also welcomes the extension. It has the opportunity to build on May’s Gaming Revenue Results announced by the Division of Gaming Enforcement.
The overall Internet gaming win reported by casinos for May 2023 was $161.4 million, which represented a growth of 18.7% compared to the previous period. Year to date (YTD), the reported Internet casino win was $781.5 million, which represented a growth of 14.7% compared to the previous YTD period.
Looking specifically at online table games, including poker, there was a decrease in casino win when comparing May 2023 to May 2022, from $58,700,698 to $54,410,444. However, the YTD figure for May 2023 of $295,597,128 compared favorably with the YTD figure for May 2022 of $291,716,618. So, the overall outlook for online poker in the state is positive.
There is also a positive outlook for job creation and economic growth in New Jersey that are linked to online gambling. They will be impacted by growth in revenue from the industry and the expansion of its legality for a further five years.
Why has the extension period been reduced from the originally proposed 10 years?
Although the five-year extension to online gambling in New Jersey has been welcomed by players and the gambling sector, questions have been asked about why the original proposed 10-year extension did not happen. State politicians revised their original ten-year suggestion to two years without any explanation. The reason for the change remains unknown.
The proposed two-year extension was increased to five years as the result of pushback from the gaming industry. Many members of the industry remain unhappy about the number of years. For example, Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts and the Casino Association of New Jersey, said that the original suggestion of a ten-year extension should have progressed. He believes that this would have been the best option for the casino industry and the state.
Given the signing of the recent bill, Mr. Giannantonio will have to be satisfied with five more guaranteed years of Internet gambling in New Jersey, as will poker fans who are certain to be able to continue enjoying online play until at least 2028.
