New Jersey to lead way in mobile casino play

Besides, Two Trump Atlantic City casinos, the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, have been awarded online gambling licenses by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, joining the Borgata and the Golden Nugget on the starting line for November 26. “We are very pleased to get the third and fourth permits,” Robert Griffin, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts told the Associated Press news agency Thursday. “We think this is a significant move for Atlantic City and for the Trump company. We’re going to make the deadline of November.”

New Jersey is just one of three states to have legalized online gambling, and only one of two to have authorized all casino games. It has thus become a focus for international, Canadian, and US gaming operators. Latest industry figures show that the state is the largest online gambling market in the American jurisdiction.

The difference between New Jersey and Nevada is that the latter restricted digital betting to poker, while New Jersey has allowed all prospective gaming domains onto the full range of mobile platforms. That said, the mobile casinos will come with some restrictions and will be hampered by cross-platform use at first. And while Nevada has won the race to online gaming it is New Jersey that is expected to enjoy the first mobile casino.

Notable launches are expected to pay big for the state and the local government. Atlantic City casinos stand to gain heavily from the legalization, while the American Gaming Association has released a U.S. Gambling activity study from 2012, which showed that us$ 2.6 billion was spent in the country in 2012 despite gambling bans.

888, which reported earlier this week a 19% increase in casino gaming revenue during the third quarter of 2013, is already operating in Nevada, but its operations are set to go live in Delaware as well as New Jersey in the coming weeks. “California is the prize,” 888 chief executive officer Brian Mattingley said. “We are working flat out to identify some quality partners out there.”

Meanwhile Betfair has unveiled a new ‘Let’s Play NJ’ marketing campaign ready for the launch of online gaming in New Jersey. Splash pages on the firm’s LetsPlayNJ.com and BetfairNJ.com announce that “Betfair is Coming to New Jersey” and prompt players to sign up to Betfair’s mailing list in order to receive various updates.

Social media accounts of Facebook and Twitter have also been set up to complement the campaign. There are also reports that Betfair has linked up the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City to secure a New Jersey land-based casino licence, but neither party has confirmed this arrangement.

Despite the launch of the campaign, neither Betfair nor 888 Holdings have received final approval for online gaming in the US state. Borgata is the only operator to receive a permit for online gaming in New Jersey, while its software provider bwin.party is still awaiting approval.

Regulated online gaming in New Jersey is set to go live on November 26, following a short trial period: a five-day ‘soft launch’ that begins on November 21.

Those operators seeking an online licence in the state must also have, or be partnered with, one of the 12 bricks-and-mortar casinos in New Jersey, all of which are in Atlantic City.

The Revel Casino Hotel and Atlantic Club Casino Hotel are yet to announce any online partnerships or licence applications.