Garden State gamblers will have both legal sports betting and online casino wagering available to them for at least another half-decade.
Legal authorization for online casino gambling in New Jersey was set to expire in November of this year. However, Gov. Phil Murphy signed iGaming extension legislation into law on June 30, giving online gambling in the state another five-year term.
An economic driver
The reauthorization of iGaming in New Jersey is a big deal for the state’s gambling industry. While New Jersey sports betting generates tens of millions of dollars for sportsbooks and their casino partners in the state every month, iGaming produces north of $100 million in revenue.
In May, for example, iGaming revenue in New Jersey was $161.4 million, while sports betting sites receipts amounted to about $82.2 million. As of the end of May, total iGaming revenue for the year was $781.5 million, compared to $374.5 million in sportsbook income.
That iGaming revenue has translated into plenty of government tax money as well. As of the end of May, the 15% tax on iGaming income resulted in $117.2 million in revenue for the state. Online sports betting tax was $46.9 million for the year to date.
Lucky seven
New Jersey is also just one of seven states to have authorized some form of iGaming, with Rhode Island recently becoming the seventh after passing online gambling legislation earlier this year. Rhode Island iGaming could start as early as March of 2024.
“The legalization of online gambling and sports betting was a catalyst for struggling casinos in the aftermath of the Great Recession,” said Republican Sen. Vince Polistina, a sponsor of the New Jersey iGaming legislation, in a press release after the passage of the bill in the state Senate. “In places like Atlantic City, internet gaming has created a number of good paying jobs after the Great Recession and has generated millions of dollars in tax revenues for the state.”
