Successful first day of online gaming in New Jersey

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has claimed the first day of a full online gambling service in the US state went by ‘without a single glitch’. Online gambling went live in New Jersey on Tuesday of this week following an initial five-day trial period in which various gaming and payment systems were tested.
 
The challenge became even bigger when the expected number of applicants more than tripled to over 70 in August. The DGE has taken an unprecedented policy decision on two main areas – to integrate online gaming with the their land based regulations and to do the entire licensing process, including technical testing and certification, in-house. “In my opinion, they have succeeded in both objectives. For this reason, the DGE stands in a class of its own as the most advanced Regulator in the World in all aspects of Online Gaming”, says Mario Galea of Random Consulting, who is the outside consultant to the DGE.
 
“Some of us had no sleep for the last five days taking it in shifts to ensure that all goes well for today’s launch. As I stood in the control room today watching the sites go up and trade as if it was a normal business day, I realized what we have achieved in the past five months.” New Jersey has been the most successful launch of any online gaming regulated market up till now.

A Moody's bond analyst estimated this week that New Jersey gamblers' online losses could result in as much as $100 million in total operating profit for the seven Atlantic City casinos that have Internet gaming permits.

Online gambling won't save Atlantic City, but it "is a much-needed boost for a market that has suffered protracted declines in gaming revenues amid increased competition from neighboring states and weak consumer gaming demand," said Peggy Holloway, a Moody's Investors Service vice president and senior credit officer.