Next year marks the first decade of legal online casinos and sports betting in the state of New Jersey, which has seen a major benefit in terms of revenue. In fact, iGaming on its own accounts for nearly half the revenue collected by all land-based establishments combined.
New Jersey was among the first to legalize iGaming in 2013, which was set to operate for 10 years before being considered for renewal in 2023.
Incredible Growth for iGaming in NJ
New Jersey gained access to top-rated online casinos from the very beginning of the iGaming legalisation. The list includes multiple well-known American brands such as BetMGM, DraftKings, PartyCasino, and many others. These sites deliver high quality games, live dealer games, and includes leading sports betting sections that cover all player needs.
With such an extensive selection, the market saw a massive increase early on. In fact, just a year after launching, iGaming revenue managed to stack up to $123 million, of which $18 million was collected in taxes for the state.
While this was impressive, the growth continued, adding up to an incredible $2 billion in 2021, yielding a massive $310 million for the state of New Jersey in tax revenue.
Massive Growth could be Cause for Concern
Few can deny that the iGaming market carried many racetracks and casinos through the COVID pandemic, which didn’t allow regular visits to land-based casinos. During these times, players could still rely on safe, fair, and trustworthy casino and betting opportunities.
However, the New Jersey Council on Compulsive Gambling is finding it difficult to keep up with the increased demand of problem gamblers. Since the launch of iGaming, calls to the popular 1-800-GAMBLER number increased by 161%.
Felecia Grondin, the executive director, said that they only have six staff that are trying to keep up with the new demand. They also have not received any additional funding since 2016, making it difficult to meet the needs to the market.