Since launching online poker in 2013, New Jersey has become a leader in the American legal market. The state has carried the flag for legal online poker as other states have slowly come on board. Along with leading the industry, the state also has the most diversified market so far, with several operators offering real-money poker in the state. The path toward legal online poker in New Jersey New Jersey is currently just one of four states to offer legal online poker. In addition to New Jersey, players in Nevada, Delaware and, as of November 2019, Pennsylvania are also able to play legalized online poker. In New Jersey, the legal age to play online poker is 21. New Jersey allows individuals of 21 years of age or older to participate in online poker rooms. Once again, lawmakers were concerned about the discrepancy between drinking age and gambling age. Legal online poker in New Jersey serves as a great experiment for other states who are looking into them to see how things will develop and if the value of the industry is worth the bother Home Poker Game Laws in New Jersey Home games are legal. But keep in mind that no one can take a rake or entry fee (other than tournament buy-ins).

Online Poker in New Jersey

Legal Online Poker Nj

Welcome to Online-Poker-New-Jersey.com. Here we will provide all relevant information regarding legal status of providers as well as brand and bonus reviews for all online poker sites in New Jersey.

Is Online Poker Legal in New Jersey in 2015?

Online poker is completely legal in New Jersey and has been so since 2013. In February 2013, Chris Christie signed online gambling into law and that included online poker. Online poker was made available to the public in late November 2013 and the state is currently in their second full year of legalized online gambling.

New Jersey has become the #1 place to play online poker in the United States and is the frontrunner for online poker technology and security. The state’s geolocation technologies are considered the best in the industry and the standard to meet for any future states considering regulation of online poker.

Only sites regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement are legal in New Jersey. Part of being regulated means that sites must be partnered with a live casino in Atlantic City and that their servers be located within the state of New Jersey.

Furthermore, you money is completely safe and secure as a result of regulation. Online gaming providers are required to segregate funds separate from operating funds. Also, if you have a problem with a provider that you are unable to resolve through standard channels, you have the option to petition the DGE to step in on your behalf.

Which Poker Brands Are Operating in NJ?

There are presently four online poker brands operating in the state of New Jersey. Each site has been required to go through the same licensing process as brick and mortar casinos in Atlantic City. In addition, NJ online gambling regulations require that each site partner with a casino in Atlantic City.

Here are the four sites currently operating in New Jersey

WSOP.com (Partnered with Caesars AC)
888 Poker NJ (Partnered with Caesars AC)
Borgata Poker (Partnered with Borgata)
PartyPoker NJ (Partnered with Borgata)

One site that may open in the near future is PokerStars NJ. The site is currently awaiting licensing approval from the DGE. They are partnered with Resorts AC and are expected to make a major impact on the NJ market once launched.

History and Regulation

The push to legalize online poker in New Jersey came at least in part due to the Black Friday scandals in 2011 that saw three of the world’s top online poker sites shut down and hundreds of millions in player funds frozen.

State Senator Ray Lesniak first attempted to legalize online gambling in 2011 with SB 490. The bill would have required the DGE to create iGaming regulations for intrastate online poker. That bill passed the legislature but Governor Chris Christie vetoed it due to concerns that internet cafes and nightclubs could become virtual casinos.

In late 2012, Lesniak tried again with SB 1565. This new bill required that online gaming providers partner with Atlantic City casinos. The new bill made it through the legislature and this time Christie issued a conditional veto requiring a change in tax rates and that the bill have a limited lifespan of 10 years.

The changes were made and on February 23, 2013, Christie signed the bill into law. Per the terms of the bill, all online gambling were required to go online on the same day. An initial soft launch of New Jersey iGaming started on November 21, 2013 and after a five-day trial period, online poker went online in New Jersey on November 26, 2013.

Originally, there were six online poker rooms in New Jersey. Ultimate Gaming and BetFair both discontinued offering online poker during 2014. Ultimate Gaming went out of business while BetFair moved their operations to the Golden Nugget following the bankruptcy and shutdown of Trump Plaza.

Online poker is legal in New Jersey and it is the second largest state for poker in the United States.

New Jersey gambling started in the early 1800s when lotteries were common and other forms of gambling took place throughout the territory. In 1844, the New Jersey government banned the lottery, leaving only horse racing as legal and prevalent. The oldest racetrack in the United States – Freehold Raceway – is located there and began to race back in the 1830s. But in 1894, pari-mutuel gambling was banned, and three years later, all types of gambling were prohibited by law.

Gambling took place from that point forward but in back rooms and away from the eyes of law enforcement. Pari-mutuel gambling was reauthorized by New Jersey in 1939, and voters approved charitable gambling in 1953 in the form of bingo and raffles. Two years later, amusement games were allowed, and the lottery was made legal in 1969.

The first vote to legalize casinos found the voters against the 1974 referendum, as they opposed casinos throughout the state. But in 1976, a different referendum that proposed casinos in Atlantic City only passed. Resorts Atlantic City was the first casino to open two years later, and many followed after. Casinos then expanded in 1993 to add poker and simulcast races, with keno introduced in 1994.

Online poker and internet casino games were legalized by the state legislature in 2013.

Latest Developments Regarding Online Poker in New Jersey

In the handful of years that the online gaming industry has been growing in New Jersey, the operators and casino partners have changed quite a bit since it began. In 2013, when the initial launch took place, the casinos and sites were as follows:

Borgata: Online poker and casino via PartyPoker
Caesars: Online poker and casino via WSOP and 888poker
Harrahs: Online poker and casino via WSOP and 888poker
Tropicana:Online casino only
Trump Plaza – then Golden Nugget: Online poker and casino with Betfair
Trump Taj Mahal – Online poker and casino with Ultimate Poker, now defunct

PokerStars then underwent significant scrutiny before being granted a license to enter the New Jersey market with Resorts Casino, which finally happened in March 2016. A little more than one year later, Pala launched online poker in New Jersey with Borgata, and MGM joined in the summer of 2017 with Scores, a strip club.

The industry has grown tremendously from its inception as well, having recently surpassed the total of $246 million internet gaming revenue in 2017 alone and achieving more than $772 million lifetime revenue by the end of 2017. Revenue from 2016 to 2017 climbed nearly 25%, with sizeable increases – especially for online casino games – each month for several years.

On October 13, 2017, New Jersey finally entered into an agreement with Nevada and Delaware to share online gaming liquidity. Governor Chris Christie gathered with Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and Delaware Governor John Carney to sign the compact that would result in online poker sites sharing. This came three and a half years after Nevada and Delaware signed an ini