Legal NJ Online Casinos

What online casinos are legal and licensed in New Jersey?

The online casinos listed in the table below are licensed to offer online gambling by NJ authorities.

The official list of legal online casinos is maintained by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. View the list here.

If an online casino’s URL does not appear on that list, then it is not operating legally in New Jersey.

Contents

• 1 What online casinos are legal and licensed in New Jersey?
• 2 What do you mean when you say “legal” online casinos? What makes one legal and another illegal?
• 3 What are the key distinctions between legal online casinos and illegal ones?
  • 3.1 Safety of funds
  • 3.2 Security of personal information
  • 3.3 Fairness of games
• 4 How online casinos are regulated in New Jersey
  • 4.1 Who is responsible for oversight of online gambling in NJ?
  • 4.2 Who can get a license?
  • 4.3 What rules govern the operation of an online casino in NJ?
  • 4.4 What do I do if I have a dispute with a regulated online New Jersey casino?
  • 4.5 What kind of protections are in place for problem gambling?
• 5 Gameplay FAQs
  • 5.1 What games are available at NJ’s online casinos?
  • 5.2 How is an online slot machine different from the slots I play at the casino?
  • 5.3 Do NJ’s online casinos offer mobile play?
  • 5.4 Does anyone actually win at these games?
• 6 Can I earn comps at online casinos in NJ?
  • 6.1 Do rewards programs cross over into land-based rewards?
  • 6.2 Can I earn free rooms at casinos by playing at online casinos?
• 7 New Jersey legal gambling: economic impact
  • 7.1 Do these sites pay taxes?
  • 7.2 How much revenue do regulated online gambling websites make?
• 8 Brief profiles of New Jersey’s legal online casinos
  • 8.1 Caesars Casino
  • 8.2 888 Casino
  • 8.3 Betfair Casino
  • 8.4 Borgata Casino
  • 8.5 Golden Nugget Online
  • 8.6 Harrah’s Casino
  • 8.7 Mohegan Sun
  • 8.8 Pala Casino
  • 8.9 PartyPoker Casino
  • 8.10 Resorts Casino
  • 8.11 Tropicana Casino
  • 8.12 Virgin Casino

What do you mean when you say “legal” online casinos? What makes one legal and another illegal?

On February 27th, 2013, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill that authorized the operation of regulated internet casinos in the state.

After issuing licenses and promulgating regulations, New Jersey gaming regulators – specifically the Division of Gaming Enforcement – gave the go-ahead on November 21st, 2013 to approved operators to start offering internet casino games and online poker games to players located within the state’s borders.

Only land-based casinos in Atlantic City – along with their licensed partners – are eligible to offer legal, regulated internet casino and poker in New Jersey. The list of approved casinos (found above) is a relatively brief one, numbering just under a dozen.

Other internet casinos may advertise themselves as legal, but they’re frankly not being honest with customers. The only legal internet casinos operating in New Jersey are those licensed and approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

If you ever have a question about the legality of a specific internet casino operating in NJ, you can review the DGE’s official list here or contact the DGE: (609) 984-0909 / [email protected].

What are the key distinctions between legal online casinos and illegal ones?

There are any number of distinctions – for example, legal internet casinos pay taxes on their revenue to the state, while New Jersey receives no such benefits from illegal casinos based offshore.

But from a consumer perspective, there are three key distinctions between legal and illegal internet casinos in New Jersey.

Safety of funds

You have no guarantee that your funds are safe at an illegal internet casino. In fact, it’s often quite difficult to tell what company is ultimately behind the casino. And while several internet casinos may advertise that they’re licensed by other jurisdictions, that doesn’t carry the same benefits as an internet casino being licensed by New Jersey regulators.

That’s because NJ regulations require licensed internet casinos to hold all player funds in secure accounts that are separate from the normal operational accounts of the company. These and other regulatory protections ensure that you know where your funds are, who is holding them and how to get them back if there’s a problem.

Bottom line: Your money is safer at a legal internet casino.

Security of personal information

Again, without regulations to require that the casino safeguard your personal information – and the ability to crack down on operators with fines and other punishments should they not comply – illegal internet casinos have little incentive to protect your personal data.

That includes the credit card or other banking information you provide in order to deposit. When you play at an internet casino that isn’t regulated, you simply can’t be sure that your information will be handled in a secure, responsible manner.

Bottom line: Your information is safer at legal internet casinos.

Fairness of games

All casino games favor the house.

But at an illegal internet casino, you have no idea if the deck is square or if the slot reels have been rigged to prevent some outcomes and encourage others. You also have no guarantee that you’ll be paid if you do go on a lucky run and ring up a big win.

At New Jersey’s legal internet casinos, games are subject to the same testing and oversight as the slot machines on the floor at the Borgata or Golden Nugget. And you can be just as sure that should you be one of the lucky few to hit an online jackpot in NJ, you’ll be paid just like you would be on the actual casino floor in New Jersey.

Bottom line: You have no idea whether illegal internet casinos offer fair games.

How online casinos are regulated in New Jersey

Who is responsible for oversight of online gambling in NJ?

Oversight of regulated online gambling in New Jersey is housed within the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement, or the DGE. Learn more about what the DGE does here.

The DGE is also responsible for regulating the multi-billion dollar land-based gambling industry in New Jersey, which is centered in Atlantic City.

Appropriately, that’s also the city the DGE (located at 1300 Atlantic Avenue Atlantic City, NJ 08401) calls home.

Who can get a license?

There are two levels of licensing related to regulated online gambling in New Jersey:

1. Internet Gaming Permits: This is the top level of online gambling licensure. You cannot operate a legal online casino in New Jersey without that internet casino being attached to an IGP permit. And only licensed land-based casinos in NJ are eligible to even apply for an IGP.
2. Casino Service Industry Enterprise License: This is the level of licensure directly below IGP’s. You’d need this license to serve as a platform provider, game provider or similar function in the market.

Here’s an example of how it works in practice.

• A land-based casino like the Tropicana applies for an IGP.
• They then can choose to develop their platform and content in-house, or work with external partners. In Tropicana’s case, they chose to partner with Gamesys, who operate a number of licensed gambling sites in other regulated markets like the United Kingdom.
• If a casino chooses an external partner, that partner is required to apply for CSIE approval.
• Once all of the approvals are secured, the casino can legally offer online gambling to consumers under a number of distinct brands – up to five under New Jersey regulations.

For their part, Tropicana and Gamesys currently offer two brands:

• TropicanaCasino
• VirginCasino

What rules govern the operation of an online casino in NJ?

You can find the merged regulations covering legal online gambling in New Jersey here.

In addition to the regulations specifically dealing with internet casinos, all of the legal gambling websites in New Jersey are subject to the general regulations governing the gambling industry in the state.

What do I do if I have a dispute with a regulated online New Jersey casino?

The NJ DGE has a process by which consumers can open a formal dispute with a licensed internet casino.

1. Customers must first contact the casino with their issue.
2. Customers can then file a dispute form with the DGE.
3. The DGE will assist with any questions you may have when completing the form.

Complete details here.

What kind of protections are in place for problem gambling?

If you have questions about problem gambling, please visit the National Council on Problem Gambling.

Different internet casinos in NJ offer deposit limits and other mechanisms to limit your online gambling activity.

New Jersey regulators provide an online self-exclusion form that players can use to quickly block their access to all of New Jersey’s regulated internet casinos with a few clicks. You do not have to admit to having a gambling problem to utilize the self-exclusion form, which takes under a minute to complete.

Access the self-exclusion form here.

Gameplay FAQs

What games are available at NJ’s online casinos?

The game selection at NJ’s legal online casinos is in many ways quite similar to the game selection on the floor of an Atlantic City Casino. In all, there are hundreds of games spread across the regulated online gambling sites in NJ, including:

• Table games: Classic casino offerings such as blackjack, roulette, craps and baccarat.
• Slots: A mix of branded titles from providers like IGT and High 5 along with proprietary titles from suppliers like Amaya. Progressives and standard games available.
• Video poker: Over a dozen unique variants, including casino standards like Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild.

One thing that is different about the online gaming experience are the stakes involved. You can play many games for pennies to quarters (and not the penny games that end up being a few dollars a slot pull – actual pennies), including games like Blackjack where the minimum bet in a land-based casino would usually be at least $5.

How is an online slot machine different from the slots I play at the casino?

More connects than separates the two. For example:

• Many of the same popular titles at land-based casinos are available online. For example, Caesars offers familiar titles like Quick Hit Platinum, Davinci Diamonds, Hot Shot and Monopoly at their internet casino.
• The same well-known game manufacturers – like ShuffleMaster (SHFL) and IGT – power many of the online  games available at NJ’s legal online casinos just as they do on the floors of Atlantic City’s terrestrial casinos.
• Modern slot machines at physical casino are generally all-digital – the physical reels of the classic one-armed bandit are quickly becoming a thing of the past. In those situations, the online version of the slot and the casino version of the slot are basically identical (save the physical cabinet housing the game).
• Both online and live slot games go through a similar testing process at the DGE’s Technical Services Bureau. For more insight into how a game is tested prior to being approved for online play, see this feature from Naughty Poker.

Do NJ’s online casinos offer mobile play?

Most major online casinos in New Jersey’s regulated market offer a mobile-friendly product. See our table comparing the legal online casinos in NJ for more information.

Does anyone actually win at these games?

Everyone knows that in the casino, the house always wins over the long run. The same applies at online casinos – all of the games are built to favor the house, and no player can beat the casino over time.

So the question is more about whether or not the online games are fair in that they provide the product they advertise. For example, do their big progressive slots and other large-ticket jackpot games ever pay out?

Two examples – including a $1.3 million winner at Harrah’s and a $1.5 million winner at Betfair – strongly suggest that players have no reason to doubt the credibility of NJ’s legal online gambling sites.

Can I earn comps at online casinos in NJ?

Do rewards programs cross over into land-based rewards?

This varies by casino, but more and more the online casinos in New Jersey’s regulated market are attempting to build bridges between their live casino and their online product.

Many rewards programs at online casinos allow you to earn points that can be used in the land-based program.

For example, Caesars’ online casino allows players to earn Total Rewards points for online play just as you would at any of Caesars’ land based properties. And your Total Rewards account for the internet casino is the same as the TR account you use at the live casinos, meaning that the points you earn online can be used for land-based comps just as you’d use any Total Rewards points.

At a minimum, any legal internet casino in NJ will offer a rewards program that can be used for cash back and other rewards within the internet casino system.

Can I earn free rooms at casinos by playing at online casinos?

Promotions at online casinos are constantly evolving, but it’s certainly not uncommon to see a promotion that involves some sort of comped room or entertainment at one of the Atlantic City casinos that operate online sites.

A big part of the long-term plan for online gambling in New Jersey is that it will support the land-based casino industry by giving more customers more reasons to interact with the casino, whether that be to gamble for a few minutes in the evening on their mobile device or spending an entire weekend at a property like the Borgata.

And online gambling should help land-based casinos better understand what it is their customers want through increased opportunities for consumer feedback and interaction.

View a list of opening bonuses at NJ online casinos.

New Jersey legal gambling: economic impact

Do these sites pay taxes?

Yes. Unlike their offshore counterparts, regulated NJ online casinos do pay taxes to the state of New Jersey. The tax rate on gross gaming revenue (basically the casino win) is 15%.

During the first full year of regulated online gambling in New Jersey, the state’s legal online casinos paid over $18 million in taxes.

How much revenue do regulated online gambling websites make?

The amounts vary by operator and change from month to month. But the average for the first year was for poker and casino combined to generate about $10-$12 million per month in revenue total across all of the state’s regulated online casinos.

Here’s our running analysis of online gambling revenue in New Jersey. You can find complete NJ online gambling historical revenue data at the New Jersey gambling press in tabular form.

Brief profiles of New Jersey’s legal online casinos

Caesars Casino

CaesarsCasino.com is the internet casino arm of Caesars Atlantic City. The primary software engine for Caesars online is provided by Amaya. Caesars offers an online poker product in New Jersey under the Caesars-owned World Series of Poker brand.

Caesars is also active in the Nevada online poker market via the WSOP NV brand, but does not operate in Delaware. The company is expected to be at the forefront of the next wave of markets to open up, especially Pennsylvania.

888 Casino

888 operates in partnership with Caesars in New Jersey. In addition to offering internet casino games in New Jersey, 888 operates an online poker site that partially shares liquidity with WSOP NJ.

888 also operates in Delaware’s regulated market, offering both casino and poker, and has plans to enter the Nevada poker market shortly. The majority of 888’s business is done in the international market, where 888 is one of the largest online poker sites and does an eight-figure business in internet casino and sports annually.

Betfair Casino

Betfair is partnered with the Golden Nugget. The company was originally partnered with Trump Plaza, but that partnership ceased when Trump closed the doors of their land-based operation.

Like 888, Betfair cut its teeth in the international market, where it offers a variety of products. The company is best known for its sports exchange product, which is considered by many to be one of the most innovative – and profitable – sports betting products in the industry.

Betfair also operates a number of advance deposit wagering sites in the U.S. that allow players to legally place online bets on horse races.

Borgata Casino

Borgata’s internet casino is an extension of the land-based Borgata property in Atlantic City. The casino is powered by bwin.party’s casino software. Borgata also offers an online poker product that shares a platform and player pool with PartyPoker NJ.

Borgata is owned by Boyd and MGM, two land-based operators with substantial national presence. As regulated online gambling continues to spread in the United States, that nationwide network of casinos could provide interesting opportunities for Borgata to expand its online casino and poker presence.

Golden Nugget Online

Golden Nugget’s online casino is an extension of their land-based property in Atlantic City. The company also offers land-based gambling in Nevada, but has yet to launch a real-money online gambling product in that state (and has no apparent plans to do so).

The online casino arm of Golden Nugget is powered by Bally Tech.

Harrah’s Casino

Harrah’s is operated by Caesars and features many of the same games and features as the online casino at CaesarsCasino.

Like CaesarsCasino, Harrah’s is powered by the Amaya gaming platform and is tied in to the broader Total Rewards program offered at Caesars-owned properties nationwide.

Mohegan Sun

Mohegan Sun is an online casino that operates under the Resorts interactive gaming license.  It offers a wide variety of slots, video poker, blackjack and roulette.  All players receive a free slot spin daily.  No deposit is required.  The first deposit bonus is 100% up to $1,000.  The wager requirement is 20 times for slots and 100 times for all other games.

Pala Casino

Pala operates in partnership with the Borgata. But unlike the Borgata, Pala does not share technology or players with bwin.party. Instead, Pala operates on a proprietary gaming platform.

Pala has both a casino and poker platform, but only offers casino in New Jersey’s market. The company had originally intended to offer online poker in NJ, but recently announced that their poker plans have been paused for the time being.

Pala Interactive is an arm of the Pala tribal gambling operation in California.

PartyPoker Casino

PartyPoker Casino is powered by the bwin.party software platform and operates under the IGP of the Borgata. The Party Casino and the Borgata online casino are more or less identical products; the same can be said for PartyPoker NJ’s poker product, which shares both platform and player pool with Borgata Poker online.

Party does not operate in Delaware or Nevada. The company has signaled its intention to work with the United Auburn Tribe in California if and when online poker is regulated in that state.

Resorts Casino

Resorts Atlantic City’s online casino is an offshoot of the company’s land-based Boardwalk property. The online casino product is powered by NYX Gaming.

Resorts plans to offer online poker via its partner PokerStars (although it does not appear that Resorts will actually offer a consumer-facing poker brand, but rather allow Stars / Full Tilt Poker to play that role exclusively).

Tropicana Casino

Tropicana’s online casino operates under the IGP of the land-based Tropicana hotel and casino in Atlantic City. The software platform for the online casino is provided by Gamesys, a major player in the international online gambling industry with a long track record of B2B successes.

Tropicana offers only casino, declining to enter New Jersey’s online poker market and making it clear that the company has no plans to enter the space in the foreseeable future.

Virgin Casino

Our final entry on the list of New Jersey’s legal online casinos operates via a partnership with the Tropicana. Like Trop, Virgin is powered under the hood by the Gamesys casino platform. Gamesys also licenses and operates the Virgin brand for online gambling in other regulated markets in the UK and Europe.

The online casino products for Virgin and Tropicana are quite similar. While Virgin operates a social poker game, the brand does not offer a real-money product in New Jersey and does not appear to have any plans to do so.