New Jersey iGaming extended five years to November 2028
New Jersey has extended iGaming by five years until November 2028, with the Legislature passing an amendment to the state’s iGaming bill and Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signing the law.
New Jersey approved online casinos in 2013 that offer interactive slot machines and table games. Gov. Chris Christie (R) signed the law in February and it became operational on November 26, 2013.
Officially, the iGaming Amendment Act (Section 6C of the Casino Control Act of 1976) stipulates that Atlantic City casinos must link their brick-and-mortar licenses to online gambling. However, the provision can only last for ten years "unless reauthorized by law."
State politicians in Trenton have been working on the expansion of iGaming over the past few weeks. After an initial ten-year extension was proposed, it was later shortened to just two years. But after pushback from the gaming industry, lawmakers found middle ground five years later.
Parliamentary Bill 2190, "An Act to Expand the Powers of the Internet Gambling Act," was approved by Parliament on Friday by a vote of 76 to 2, with two MPs not voting. The bill later passed the Senate unanimously in a vote of 37-0, with three representatives not voting.
Private Discussion
Much of the discussion about iGaming's expansion has occurred behind closed doors. State lawmakers have not commented publicly on why they considered and ultimately agreed to a shorter time frame instead of the 10 years originally proposed.
Casinos can partner with multiple online casino platforms. Longer legality could make the market more attractive to iGaming operators. The license costs $400,000, with annual renewal fees of $250,000.
Borgata, for example, has granted physical licenses to 11 iGaming partners, including Party Casino, Pala Casino and BetMGM. iGaming revenue from these operators is aggregated into Borgata’s monthly Internet gaming revenue by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). This is why casino representatives have said in the past that monthly revenue reports are quite misleading, as a large portion of online money goes to internet operators rather than casinos.
But since its launch, iGaming has given a huge boost to Atlantic City’s gambling industry. iGaming has earned around $6.3 billion in revenue from online players since November 2013, although most of that money has been generated in the past few years as younger players and some traditional players continue to migrate online.
iGaming is also a big business in the state, accounting for 15 percent of the Internet gambling market. Last year, New Jersey’s share of iGaming was nearly $2.5 billion.
iGaming Welcomes Murphy Hancock
AB 2190 was sent to Murphy's desk on Friday. The governor announced Friday night that he signed the measure to help protect the state's online gambling industry.
Mark Giannatonio, president of the New Jersey Resort and Casino Association, said before the state decided to implement a five-year extension that a ten-year extension would be in the best interest of the casino industry and the state.
“The ten-year reauthorization of the Internet Gaming Act is critical to the continued success of New Jersey’s gaming industry and tax-supported programs,” said Giannantonio.
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Source: www.casino.org
