Gambling in New Jersey includes casino gambling in Atlantic City, the New Jersey Lottery, horse racing, off-track betting, charity gambling, amusement games, and social gambling. New Jersey's gambling laws are among the least restrictive in the United States. In 2013, the state began to allow in-state online gambling. Five years later in 2018, the state won a lawsuit that dismantled Nevada's monopoly on legal sports betting.
History Early era
Gambling has a long legacy in New Jersey, with the state historically being more permissive of gambling than most other states. Until they were banned in 1844, lotteries were common in New Jersey. They were used to help pay for the military during the French and Indian War and American Revolution, and help finance the construction of Queen's College (now Rutgers University) and the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).
Freehold Raceway was the oldest racetrack in the United States, with horse racing having taken place there informally since the 1830s. The Monmouth County Agricultural Society was formed on December 17, 1853, and in 1854 they began holding an annual fair with harness racing at Freehold Raceway. Monmouth Park Racetrack opened as a venue for thoroughbred racing in 1870. In 1894, the New Jersey Legislature banned parimutuel gambling, and in 1897 the voters of New Jersey approved a referendum which amended the state constitution to ban all gambling (or possibly all commercial gambling).
Expansion of gambling From 1894 to 1939, all gambling was theoretically outlawed in New Jersey, but enforcement was spotty, and it is not clear whether social gambling was prohibited. Bookmaking, numbers games, and slot machines were common through the state, many churches and other non-profit organizations openly held bingos, and Freehold Raceway operated without interruption. Racetrack gambling was re-legalized in 1939. In 1953, voters approved a referendum to officially allow non-profit organizations to have bingo and raffles based on approval of the municipal governing body and subject to state regulation."Bingo For Charity Is Voted In Jersey; Margin Exceeds 2-1 -- Newark Approves Shift to a Mayor and Nine Councilmen", The New York Times, November 4, 1953. Accessed March 8, 2023. "New Jersey's voters approved by better than 2-to-1 yesterday the legalization of bingo games and raffles for charitable and civic purposes. Returns from 3,289 of the state's 3,964 election districts recorded 751,142 persons in favor of the amendment to the state constitution to permit the games, and 296,926 opposed. The games would be subject to legislative regulation and a local option vote in communities." In 1959, amusement games were re-legalized after a 1957 court decision had declared them to be a form of illegal gambling. In 1969, 81.5% of New Jersey voted in favor of a referendum creating the New Jersey Lottery, and in 1975, New Jersey initiated the Pick-It (later renamed the Pick-3), the first legal lottery game in the United States in which buyers could pick their own numbers.
In 1974, New Jersey voters voted against legalizing casino gambling statewide, but two years later approved a new referendum that legalized casinos, but restricted them to Atlantic City. At that time, Nevada was the only state with legal casino gambling. Resorts Atlantic City was the first casino to open in 1978. In 2006, an impasse over the state's budget between then-governor Jon Corzine and the state legislature resulted in a lengthy state government shutdown at the height of the summer tourist season; this caused the temporary closure of all of Atlantic City's casinos (as well as racetracks throughout the state) because New Jersey law states that gambling establishments can not legally operate without government oversight from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. The closures cost the state an estimated $1.3 million in casino revenues in addition to the loss of state taxes collected on casino employee wages."New Jersey Casinos Close as Lawmakers Struggle to Reach Budget Deal", Fox News, July 5, 2006. As of early 2021, Atlantic City's gaming revenue still had not returned to its 2006 peak. Arguably, the temporary shutdown of Atlantic City's casinos in 2006 encouraged neighboring states to continue developing their own gaming industries.
Sports betting In January 2012, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation allowing sports betting in New Jersey after it was approved by a 2-to-1 margin in a voter referendum held in November 2011. The law permits any of the state's 12 casinos and 4 racetracks to offer gambling on professional and college sports, but prohibits them from accepting bets on college events played in New Jersey, or out-of-state games involving New Jersey college teams. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement subsequently issued regulations for sports betting.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball filed a federal lawsuit against New Jersey to prevent sports betting, based on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 which banned sports betting in all but four states. In February 2013, United States District Court judge Michael A. Shipp ruled in favor of the athletic leagues, and barred New Jersey from issuing sports betting licenses. The court ruled that under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, the regulation of gambling and the granting of a grandfather clause to four states is within Congress's power.National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Christopher J. Christie, No. 12-4749 (D.N.J. 2013) In September 2013, a three-judge panel from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to uphold Shipp's decision.National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Governor of the State of New Jersey, No. 13-1713 (3rd Cir. 2013) Christie said he will appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court.
In 2014, New Jersey challenged the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) which had effectively grandfathered Nevada's federal statutory monopoly on legal sports betting.
On June 27, 2017, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. On May 14, 2018, the court issued its opinion in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (the case had been renamed due to the election of Phil Murphy as governor). The Court overturned the Appeals Court decision, ruling that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was unconstitutional. Justice Alito wrote the opinion supporting New Jersey's assertion.
This allowed New Jersey to move ahead with plans to implement legalized sports betting. On June 11, 2018, Governor Phil Murphy signed Assembly Bill 4111, legalizing sports betting at casinos and racetracks within New Jersey. It also allowed casinos and racetracks to seek approval for online and mobile sports betting after thirty days. On June 14, 2018, Governor Murphy placed the first bets in the State of New Jersey at the sports book at Monmouth Park. The first online sports bet was taken in August 2018.
As of 2023, 23 legal online sportsbooks are both operating in New Jersey and licensed by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, four fewer than the 27 licensed online sportsbooks that operated in New Jersey at the start of 2022. The 23 online sportsbooks currently licensed and operating in New Jersey are Barstool, Bet365, BetMGM, BetParx, Betway, Borgata, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, Fox Bet, Fubo, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock, PlayUP, Prophet Exchange, PointsBet, BetRivers, Sporttrade, SuperBook, Tipico, Unibet, VIE (EEG), WynnBet.
According to the American Gaming Association, legal gambling revenues at New Jersey commercial establishments (not including tribal casinos) had a total $1,007 billion in sports betting revenue in 2023, second only to New York.
Online gambling In January 2011, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill sponsored by Raymond Lesniak to allow online gambling by New Jersey residents over 21. Because the state constitution allows casino gambling only in Atlantic City, the legislation specified that the computer servers operating the online gambling websites must be located at licensed casinos in Atlantic City. The Lesniak bill evaded possible federal prohibitions against online gambling by authorizing the Casino Control Commission to create regulations to ensure the bets were placed from inside New Jersey. However, Governor Chris Christie vetoed the legislation because of concerns that "allowing customers to bet through any computer terminal left open the chance of commercial businesses such as nightclubs and cafes becoming gambling hubs around the state", and "the bill further created a legal fiction that a bet placed anywhere in New Jersey counted as an Atlantic City bet".
In December 2011, the United States Justice Department issued a legal opinion that the Federal Wire Act prohibits only online sports betting, not online casino games. John Wefing, a constitutional scholar at Seton Hall Law School, told a state Assembly committee that he did not believe a constitutional amendment was needed to authorize online gambling because "any online poker bet would not be completed until a server in Atlantic City accepted the wager," and "wagers are contracts, and the law recognizes that contracts occur where the final action needed to take place occurs." However, State Senator Jennifer Beck has stated that online gambling cannot be legalized with the approval of New Jersey voters, and several federal courts decisions have said an online bet occurs in both the location of the website, and the location of the gambler.
To address Christie's concerns, new legislation was drafted that prohibits businesses other than Atlantic City casinos from advertising online gambling, or allowing their facilities to be used for online gambling. On February 26, 2013, a revised bill permitting Internet gambling was overwhelmingly approved by the New Jersey Legislature, and then signed into law by Chris Christie. The law legalizes online casino gambling for a ten-year trial period, restricts the operation of the websites to Atlantic City's eleven casinos, and imposes a 15% tax on online gambling revenue, instead of the 8% currently imposed on casinos.
The act requires that the gambler be at least 21 and play from a computer in New Jersey. The gambler's location will likely be verified through a global positioning system (GPS), and the bill allows interstate compacts to be signed in future in order to authorize multistate gambling. Comps will be available, but will need to be redeemed by visiting the casino. Macquarie Capital estimates that online gambling will provide Atlantic City's casino with $260 to $400 million in additional revenue per year. The Casino Control Commission will create regulations for online gambling. It is unclear when online gambling licenses will be issued, or if there will be any legal challenges to the new law.
Online casinos opened for business via a synchronized launch on November 21, 2013. At launch, game options were limited, but by 2017, twelve separate online casino brands offered many hundreds of games including a wide variety that have been brought over from the traditional casino world.