Unlike most US States, New Jersey has always had a good relationship with regulated and licensed gambling. And it’s a long relationship, starting in 1974, when New Jersey voters were asked, through a referendum, to amend the State Constitution in order to allow casino gambling in municipalities. At the time, US legalised gambling was only allowed in the State of Nevada – and continued being so because the New Jersey referendum was defeated by 60 per cent of the voters.

Fast-forward by two years, and New Jersey citizens were once again asked to allow casino gambling – but this time around, not State-wide, but only in Atlantic City. This time around, the referendum went through and 56 per cent of voters declared themselves in favour of gambling in Atlantic City. Soon after, Governor Brendam Byme signed the New Jersey Casino Control Act into law.

In the 1990s, New Jersey introduced legislative and regulatory changes to create a more business-friendly environment for the casino industry. This in turn attracted new investment – and strengthened an industry which is nowadays seen as a catalyst for economic activity in Atlantic City, the Greater Atlantic City Region, and the State of New Jersey.

Today, regulations cater for both land-based and online gambling in New Jersey. Licensing and regulation are achieved through a two-tier system: the Casino Control Commission, which is a politically independent, decision-making body; and the Division of Gaming Enforcement which, as part of the Attorney General’s office, has comprehensive law enforcement supervision on all persons, locations, practices and associations related to the operation of casinos and related services.

The public also plays an important role – indeed, public confidence and trust in the integrity of the regulatory process of casino operations is critical. There have also been various instances throughout the years where the Commission found executives to be unsuitable to form part of gambling operations and asked for their removal. This combination of strict regulatory oversight and public participation have made the New Jersey licence a gold standard for casinos.

The gambling sector enjoys forward-looking legislation. One of the more recent, significant changes came in 2018 when, after a six-year legal battle, the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of New Jersey in Murphy v. NCAA and struck down a decades-old federal law that prohibited the State from legalising sports betting. Within weeks of the decision, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation permitting sports betting at New Jersey’s casinos and racetracks.

All this explains why gambling in New Jersey is thriving. Figures from last September shows that, despite a dip in land-based activity, gambling revenue was up by 7.5 per cent.

Land-based casino activity took a slight hit – revenue in September reached $246.5m, down 2.1 per cent from September of last year. Some $182.7m of land-based gambling revenue came from slot machine games – which again spells a drop of two percent, as did table games, which suffered a 2.2 per cent drop from September 2022.

Online gambling made up for this drop – as it experienced significant growth. In fact, in September, online gambling revenue reached $163.8m, an increase of 21.1 per cent over 2022.

Sports betting is also enjoying good growth. In September, revenue increased by 13.4 per cent over September 2022, to register a revenue of $111m.

Overall, year-to-date revenue has surpassed the $4bn mark – which is 10.9 per cent more than the same period in 2022. And that is a sign of confidence in the New Jersey gambling sector.

Disclaimer: Play responsibly. Players must be over 18. For help visit https://www.gamcare.org.uk/