As New Jersey residents gear up for the November 26 launch of real money online betting web sites, Garden State gaming regulators have turned their attention to one of the potential downsides of increased access to gambling - problem gambling - and have announced that those who wish to prohibit themselves from visiting the sites will be able to self-exclude even before the games go live.
Problem gamblers can ban themselves from land-based casinos
As in many other states, those who feel they have a problem with gambling that is beyond their control can place their name on a list essentially barring themselves from entering the land-based casinos in Atlantic City.
According to the Asbury Park Press, New Jersey residents whose names already appear on the list governing land-based bans will automatically be placed on the online exclusion list by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Anyone who wants to add their name to the list can also do so, with prohibitions available for periods lasting either one year or five years.
Move addresses one complaint about advent of online betting
In moving to offer problem gamblers the ability to be precluded from accessing real money gambling sites in New Jersey, regulators there are taking a proactive step to deal with one of the issues that those opposed to gambling expansion, both online and off, frequently cite when arguing against allowing access to such games, that being the potential for gambling addicts to see their problems worsen as a result of the increased availability of betting.
"Expanding the division’s self-exclusion program to include Internet gaming and making the application process available to the public prior to Internet gaming’s go-live date of November 26, 2013, represents a commitment I made following the signing of the Internet gaming bill. The division is committed to promoting responsible gaming not only in Atlantic City’s casinos, but also on the Internet," David Rebuck, New Jersey's head of gaming regulation, was quoted as saying.
Those who wish to add their name to the exclusion list go either do so via the Internet or by visiting the "division’s offices in Atlantic City or Trenton, and the offices of the New Jersey Racing Commission in Trenton, East Rutherford, Oceanport and Freehold," says the Asbury Park Press.
New Jersey to be third state to offer real money poker and other games
In February, New Jersey became the third state in the U.S. behind Delaware and Nevada to pass legislation to regulate some form of online wagering.
While Nevada - the first state to see sites go live when Ultimate Poker opened its virtual doors back in April - allows residents and visitors to play only real money online poker, in New Jersey and Delaware, where Internet-based wagering commenced at the end of last month, a broader array of games will be accessible, including online versions of casino games as well as online poker.
When the newly re-elected governor of New Jersey, 2016 Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie, signed New Jersey's iGaming bill into law last February, he did so in large part to allow for a new source of revenue for Atlantic City, long struggling in the face of increased competition for gamblers from nearby states, in particular Pennsylvania.
Whether New Jersey's Internet betting market will help stem the revenue loss remains to be seen, as Pennsylvania is among a handful of states mulling regulation of Internet betting.
