Online casino affiliates, take note! New Jersey gaming regulators have officially confirmed what igaming industry watchers have known for weeks; Garden State online gambling will officially launch on November 26.
The Department of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) also unveiled some new details about the rules that NJ players and operators will abide by post-launch date.
The most interesting nugget of information from the announcement is that all operators will be undergoing a five-day trial period beginning on November 21. This soft launch sounds like a standard Beta Test that will be accessible only by invitation. (Given what’s at stake, it’s not surprising that DGE officials want to make certain that everything checks out on launch date.)
Along with a slew of launch day details, the DGE also announced that:
- Operators will be able to launch free-to-play games, so long as they are quarantined from real money accounts.
- A clause requiring operators to report formal complaints to the DGE within five days.
- Game replay data must be saved and accessible for at least ten years.
The most interesting tidbit from the Jersey data dump is a passage that opens up Jersey gaming sites to players outside of New Jersey, “unless permitted by Federal law, the law of a foreign jurisdiction, or reciprocal agreement.” This is clearly designed to open the path for lucrative interstate gaming compacts (a strategy AC casinos are clearly counting on to further boost lackluster revenue streams).
And if you’re planning on checking out the online gambling as part of your next Garden State vacation, that’s an option, too. According to the DGE, out-of-state visitors will be able to transfer money from their out-of-state banks accounts to NJ online operators, so long as they are physically in the state at the time.
While we know a lot more about NJ iGaming than we did last week there’s still one number that no one really knows yet; how many operators will be ready for business on November 26? Look for affiliate casino programs to start hopping in on the NJ trend.