First New Jersey online gambling licence issued

New Jersey regulators took another bold step into an intrastate online gambling future Wednesday with the issue of the first online gambling licence to the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, giving the company the green light to launch the new gambling genre once the regulations come into force on November 26.

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement said the casino was the first to file a complete application to offer online gambling, which will begin with a five day trial period on November 21.

Borgata president Tom Ballance said the award illustrates his company’s commitment to take a leading role in Internet gambling, partnered by the highly experienced European online gambling group Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.

“It’s always nice to be first in the queue,” Balance told the Associated Press news agency. “Borgata and bwin.party are aggressively pursuing our objective of being among the first to launch online gaming in the state. We believe online gaming is an exciting growth opportunity for New Jersey’s gaming industry, one that will generate significant benefits for the state as New Jersey assumes a leadership role in this emerging form of gaming entertainment.”

Balance said that all table and slots games available in the land casinos will be available online once full play starts. Gamblers will have to be physically located within New Jersey’s boundaries to play.

AP reports that the Borgata consistently leads Atlantic City’s 12 land casinos in terms of monthly and annual gambling revenue, and has been the dominant casino in the gambling enclave since shortly after it opened 10 years ago.

In related news, media reports from New Jersey note that a recommendation from online poker operators that the New Jersey regulator permit person-to-person financial transfers through online poker-room accounts has been rejected by the regulator, despite the fact that such transfers are common in the internet gambling industry where players want to stake each other or settle bets.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement cited concerns over money laundering and collusion among its objections to the practice.