According to reports out of the state, many New Jersey casinos have yet to file critical paperwork with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement as the state readies to launch their full online casino gaming network in just over two months.
Meadowlands Matters writer John Brennan reports that Atlantic City casinos received a letter last week to inform them of the oversight and that the required information was needed by September 20. The letter stated that, “The Division’s review of those submissions filed to date has revealed omissions where the applicant has failed to provide important hardware and specifications relating to technology, failed to have internet service providers disclose contracts with third-party vendors and/or failed to have copies of all relevant contracts with third-party service providers.”
The letter continued, “The failure to provide such information is affecting the Division’s ability to review and approve submissions and address licensing issues necessary for the issuance of a transactional waiver or Interim Casino Authorization.” The DGE is looking to have everything in place for proper review prior to the launch of New Jersey’s online gaming industry, which is set for November 23.
Interestingly, the information that is being sought is some of the most critical parts of the operation of any online gaming system. Such issues as hardware (physical computing) and software (the type of program they will be running), geolocation procedures, age verification and payment processing are the most important things that the DGE hasn’t been informed of. Other areas that the DGE is looking for information on include responsible gaming, player collusion procedures, money laundering prevention and other issues. Several of the potential operations in New Jersey have yet to provide all of this information, according to Brennan.
The lines have been drawn in New Jersey, with each of the twelve casinos in operation having previously announced their “dance partners” for the start of gaming in the Garden State later this fall. The powerhouse Caesars Entertainment properties – which include their namesake casino, Harrah’s, Bally’s and the Showboat – will be joining together with their longtime partner 888 Holdings to provide their online gaming; the Trump Taj Mahal has chosen Ultimate Poker and Ultimate Gaming for their outlet, while the Trump Plaza will bring Betfair into the online game in the United States for the first time in a few years.
The Borgata, owned by Boyd Gaming, will use the technology of bwin.Party for their offerings, while the Tropicana will employ Gamesys and the Golden Nugget will join with Bally Technologies. Potentially the biggest partnership will be between Resorts International (and their Resorts Casino Club on the boardwalk in Atlantic City) and the online poker behemoth PokerStars.
Two casinos in the Atlantic City industry, Revel Casino Hotel and The Atlantic Club, have yet to disclose who they will partner with to enter into the Jersey online gaming scene. Both have had a rather jaded past with the poker community; the Revel is planning to close its live poker room’s doors on August 15 due to a lack of players while The Atlantic Club (which doesn’t have a live poker room) engaged in a dance with PokerStars that would have seen the online poker company buy the casino. After announcing a deal earlier this year, that purchase was shot down in May after it became apparent that PokerStars would not get a temporary gaming license in the state.
The potential for the New Jersey online gaming scene to explode when it launches in November is palpable. With its roughly 9 million residents, it is estimated that the Jersey online gaming market could pull in as much as $180 million in 2014 from its operation, which would be a significant shot in the arm for the Atlantic City casinos (by law, only licensed Atlantic City casinos can offer New Jersey intrastate gaming). The offerings from New Jersey would also be groundbreaking in that it would be the first state to offer full online casino gaming (Nevada only offers online poker at this time).
