For most of the summer, chatter about the start of regulated online gambling in New Jersey went on at nearly a fevered pitch with little sign of abating. With games scheduled to go live in the Garden State at the end of November, it would appear that fans of online betting aren't the only ones chomping at the bit for the official launch.
Operators and technology companies are also counting down the days until New Jersey residents can place bets via the magic of the Internet, with betting company Bwin.party remarking this week that it is looking forward to the industry getting underway in the state.
Bwin.party has partnered with the Borgata
Bwin.party, which is based in the tiny British territory of Gibraltar, has entered into a partnership agreement with the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, arguably the toniest of Atlantic City's twelve land-based casino properties.
Under the terms of New Jersey's new online wagering law, which was signed by Republican Governor and likely 2016 presidential contender Chris Christie back in February of this year, the nascent New Jersey online betting business must be tied to land-based casino operations in the state. As such, recent months have been rife with announcements of partnership deals between properties there and Internet gaming companies.
The Borgata, owned by MGM and Boyd Gaming, plans to offer online casino games and online poker via the websites borgatacasino.com and borgatapoker.com, respectively, reports the Press of Atlantic City. Bwin.party operates one of the best-known online poker rooms in the world, Party Poker.
In New Jersey, a wide variety of online gambling options will be on offer to residents and visitors who are over 21 years of age and are physically located in the state when logging on. Cell phone verification will likely be used - as it is in Nevada - to confirm location.
Industry is expected to transform Atlantic City
Online gambling is predicted to be an enormous business in states where it has been regulated, which so far is a short list of places: Nevada, Delaware, and of course New Jersey.
Anyone who has followed casino news in recent years is likely intimately familiar with the troubles plaguing Atlantic City's betting industry, on the decline since peaking in 2006.
The neighboring state of Pennsylvania is largely to blame for Atlantic City's woes, however a focus on land-based casino expansion up and down the eastern seaboard has made gambling more accessible to more Americans, and has lessened the necessity of a trip to gambling centers like Atlantic City.
As a result, there have been increased worries in recent years about casino closures and potential job losses. The ability for Internet-based wagering to bring in a new brand of gambler - and his money - to Atlantic City was not lost on lawmakers, who passed the online wagering legislation in part to help stem the consistent revenue decline experienced by the state's struggling casino industry.
Gambling experts and financial analysts predict that regulated online gambling in the U.S. has the potential to generate tens of millions of dollars annually for the states that have legalized access to it.
