by Pokerati Promo, Apr 26, 2017 | 1:12 pm

After a slow first year, regulated online gambling in New Jersey has proven a success on multiple fronts. The largest experiment with legal online casino and poker in the United States has provided both an example – and a template – that should inspire other states to follow suit.

Financial windfall for operators, state

Land-based casinos in New Jersey have now reaped more than a half a billion dollars in revenue from legal online casino and poker games. Based on testimony from executives at several Atlantic City casinos – including Caesars and the Borgata – that revenue has overwhelmingly come from new customers, rather than customers that simply moved spend from land-based casino play to online play. The result is not only additive revenue for Atlantic City casinos, but growth in the player databases of those casinos.

That revenue and customer growth has helped Atlantic City snap a ten-year losing streak, with the market booking its first period of year-over-year growth in 2016.

The state has benefited significantly as well. With an effective tax rate of 17.5%, the rewards for New Jersey in terms of tax revenue are now approaching $100 million dollars. It’s difficult to imagine another new source of tax revenue in New Jersey within the last few years that even approaches those numbers.

And as Atlantic City recovers, the state stands to realize even more income from land-based casinos on the upswing.

Regulatory success

Critics of online gambling have long argued that the technology to successfully mitigate concerns regarding fraud, underage play, and money laundering simply don’t exist.

New Jersey has proven them wrong on all points. The state has effectively controlled underage play, deployed a leading-edge geolocation system that can pinpoint player location within a few meters, and utilizes a state-of-the art system for tracking financial transactions.

In fact, most experts agree that the online casino environment makes controlling these and other potential abuses easier than controlling such abuses in a land-based casino environment, where tracking is far more complicated and customers leave far less of a comprehensive trail.

Again, states considering regulated online gambling can look toward New Jersey’s efficacy on these and other points related to consumer protection and draw both comfort that regulated online gambling can be executed in a responsible manner and lessons for bringing regulated online casino and poker games into their markets.

Value for NJ casino consumers

One of the byproducts of a healthy, profitable online gambling ecosystem in New Jersey is that casinos have the margins to provide players with compelling promotions and bonuses. The upshot for players in New Jersey is over $100 in welcome bonuses that require no deposit whatsoever, and upwards of $10,000 in available deposit bonuses for new players. A sample of some of the opening offers available in New Jersey and details for claiming them can be found below. Watch each video for full details on how to claim your bonus (available to players located in New Jersey only).

Virgin Casino

Virgin operates in partnership with the Tropicana and offers new players a $20 bonus on signup along with a $100 loss-back promotion. The quality of the bonus and the exclusive content has made Virgin a favorite among NJ players.

Betfair NJ

Another imported brand, betfair is partnered with the Golden Nugget. Like Virgin, they offer $320 free to new players, but provide a $1,500 deposit bonus should you decide to try their games with your own money.

Golden Nugget Online Casino

One of the most popular casinos in Atlantic City is also among the top performers in the NJ online market thanks to a massive game library and innovations like live dealer blackjack. $20 free and a 100% match bonus on your first deposit.

Tropicana Online casino

There are few names in gambling as iconic as the Tropicana, and the online version lives up to the reputation. Exclusive slots like Deal or No Deal are complemented by a $20 no deposit bonus and a generous cash back promotion should you make a deposit.

Watch the videos for more details and read full terms and conditions before signing up.