Real Money Casinos in New Jersey

For the longest time, the term “real money casinos in New Jersey” meant nothing other than the many casinos that lined the shores of Atlantic City. Nowadays, however, when you hear that same exact term one cannot help but immediately think of the new, booming online casino industry that has just taken foothold in the state.

The following few sections will break down, in detail, the different types of online casinos in New Jersey as well as how you can take advantage of them. Even though we just made mention of the online casino industry, we would be remiss were we to refrain from talking about the historic brick and mortar industry in the state as well.

The Origins of Real Money Casinos in the State

Though many people think that gambling has been a staple in New Jersey forever, that simply is not the case. In fact, the first legalized casinos in the state did not exist until the 1970’s. It was at this time that a vote was taken and the citizens of the state decided that real money casinos would be able to exist in one place and one place only—Atlantic City. Though there would be loads of gambling in Atlantic City, the rest of the state strictly forbid any sort of real money casino games. That much is still true today.

Though there was a point in time when casinos in Atlantic City were thriving, that is not so much the case anymore. With surrounding states like Pennsylvania and Maryland relaxing their laws as they relate to casinos, people are no longer feeling the need to drive hours to Atlantic City when they can get more or less the same experience much closer to home. What this has all resulted in is a fairly depressing view of what Atlantic City is compared to what it was.

The city that was once the top mark as far as gambling on the Eastern seaboard was concerned is now hardly what most people would call a destination. Still, there exist plenty of real money casinos in Atlantic City, even if a few have closed their doors for good.

Current List of Brick and Mortar Casinos Still Operating in NJ

There are still quite a few live casinos still operating in the state today. A lot of these more “enduring” brands include Caesars, Golden Nugget, Harrahs and the world-famous Borgata. All of these also have online casino and poker brands attached to their name and have proven to be quite successful since New Jersey introduced online gambling into law.

The full list of operating casinos includes:

• Bally’s
• Borgata
• Caesars
• Golden Nugget
• Harrahs
• Resorts Casino Hotel
• Tropicana

The Introduction of Real Money Online Casinos in NJ

If the brick and mortar casino industry in New Jersey is depressing, the online scene is anything but that. This is so because the network of intrastate online casinos has been growing steadily for the past few years. As you could have probably guessed, the existence of online casinos in New Jersey did not become a reality until 2011. Before then, people were forced to play real money games at sites that were located outside of the US and were wholly unregulated.

Thanks a bill being signed into law and loads of other government moves, anyone who is over the age of 21 can play real money casino games online in New Jersey. An interesting facet of all this is that even though legalized, regulated online casino play is permitted anywhere within New Jersey’s borders, every bet that is made is technically being made in Atlantic City.

Due to state law that strictly forbids gambling outside the limits of Atlantic City, the legalized intrastate network of online casinos had to be formatted in such a way that all of the servers supporting the online sites were based in Atlantic City. In no way does this affect the overall playing experience nor the way in which bets are made, but does well to highlight just how far states have to go in order to provide something that has proven to be, by most accounts, beneficiary.

Tax Revenue Benefits

Perhaps more important to the state of New Jersey than any other aspect of the real money casino industry in the state is the amount of tax revenue created each and every year. Not only do brick and mortar sites bring in nice tax dollars for the state, the budding online casino industry is seeing the dollar amount of taxes brought in on an annual basis rise by shocking margins.

In all, it is estimated that within 10 years the casinos in the state—both online and off—can bring in in upwards of $5 billion in additional tax revenue year after year. Whether it ACTUALLY hits that number is debatable, but as of right now, there have been solid increases month to month since online gaming was legalized and truly began gaining steam in the past 6 to 12 months.

Even if you are not at all familiar with the financial status of New Jersey or any other US state, it goes without saying that all 50 of them are looking for ways to create additional revenue streams, primarily through taxes. Being that this is the case, the case for legalized real money casinos was so strong in New Jersey that people could not resist any longer.

Now it is paying dividends for the state and setting an example for the rest of the country. In total, the real money casino industry in New Jersey has grown a lot since the 1970’s, and is continuing to grow and reshape itself year after year. It is interesting to think about what the future holds for this very progressive state.