PCI is the home of online casino and online poker games for players in NJ. We offer freerolls, bonuses and more for members of our free PCI community. We are licensed and regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement as an Internet gaming operator in accordance with the Casino Control Act N.J.S.A. 5:12-1 and its implementing regulations. Our games are tested by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to provide games that are fair and operate correctly.
The process wasn’t nearly that easy. New Jersey’s gambling and tourism economy has been in decline for fully two decades, with the historic East Coast gambling mecca of Atlantic City (home of the famed Boardwalk) facing year after year of declining gambling revenues.
Reasons for Atlantic City’s decline were multiple and obvious:
• The physical difficulty of getting to Atlantic City, which is poorly served by road connections and virtually impossible to reach by air;
• The physical decline of Atlantic City as a tourist destination, with high crime rates and run-down neighborhoods occupying much of the area;
• Perhaps most importantly, the proliferation of gambling opportunities in nearby states. From three racinos in neighboring Delaware to slots casinos in eastern Pennsylvania and two mega-casinos on the other side of the New York City metroplex in Connecticut (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun), Atlantic City casinos found themselves a much less desirable destination.
Best NJ Online Poker Sites
- 1
- 888 Poker NJ
- 100% up to $888
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- Borgata Poker NJ
- 100% up to $600
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- WSOP.com
- 100% up to $400
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- Party Poker NJ
- 100% up to $1,000
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New Jersey casinos and their legislative supporters have long eyed Internet gambling as a way for the state to reestablish its supremacy. NJ State Sen. Ray Lesniak, an outspoken supporter of the state’s casinos, introduced an authorization bill in early 2011. That first bill sailed through both the New Jersey Senate and Assembly with significant majorities, and appeared ready to be signed by Gov. Christie.
Instead, Christie unexpectedly vetoed the bill, suggesting that a clause in the bill declaring sites with their servers based in Atlantic City but open to all Jersey residents might be unconstitutional, since the state authorizes only the gambling which occurs in Atlantic City.
However, such concerns disappeared when later bills were passed; it appears that Christie dealt with Lesniak’s original bill in the context of his own national, Republican-party political aspirations, and did not want New Jersey to be the first state to authorize online gambling.
A second bill authored by Sen. Lesniak in late 2012 and introduced in the New Jersey Assembly as AB 2578 (by sponsors John Burzichelli, Vincent Prieto and Ruben Ramos, Jr.) again sailed through related committee and Assembly and Senate votes, usually with voting majorities approaching 90%.
But again, in early 2013, Christie vetoed the bill, but said he’d approve if it in exchange for a higher tax rate to be assessed to the New Jersey casinos to be operating the sites, along with a 10-year limit on the licenses to be issued by the state, to allow for periodical review.
The temporary veto also gave Christie’s political team time to parse the debate away from another New Jersey gambling situation, where the state has been involved in pitted constitutional battle against federal officials in its plan to offer legalized sports betting, which is legal in Nevada and has proven a boon for that state’s casinos.
In any event, the online-gambling bill’s bakers quickly agreed to Christie’s demands, and a revised version of the bill had cleared both legislative houses and was back on Christie’s desk within three weeks, which he then signed the same day.
The first New Jersey-regulated sites have yet to appear, but it’s likely they’ll debut for real-money play sometime in early 2014. All 12 land-based casinos in Atlantic City have notified state regulators of their plans to launch one or more online poker sites for New Jersey players. Our sister site NJ Casinos regularly keeps up to date on the market changes in the Garden State.
The PokerStars / New Jersey Situation
One extra wrinkle in the New Jersey online poker scene is in its possible point of reentry into the US poker market for world leader PokerStars. In late 2012, Stars parent Rational Group agreed to purchase the struggling Atlantic Club Casino for a paltry $15 million, with an eye toward using the site as a relaunching point for US operations, if the purchase could gain regulatory approval.
Instead, the planned purchase was immediately assailed by the American Gaming Association (AGA), and important casino-lobbying group representing most (but not all) US-based casino/entertainment corporations. The AGA publicly and loudly protested against the potential approval of the Stars purchase, and took the unprecedented step of attempting to interfere with New Jersey regulators’ approval process by submitting thousands of pages of documentation purporting to show PokerStars as an international criminal organization with a history of flaunting US law.
Not long after, the Atlantic Club Casino announced a cancellation of the attempted PokerStars purchase, citing the technicality of a lapsed timeline. The Atlantic Club also kept at least $11 million of the purchase price, and wants the rest. The dispute has triggered a lawsuit between the two sides.
Meanwhile, PokerStars wasted no time reaching a software deal with a second New Jersey casino, Resorts Casino Atlantic City, to provide a software platform for online poker. The Resorts Casino Atlantic City casino is the only “Resorts Casino” venue in the United States -not- run by Resorts Casino International, the firm PokerStars originally contracted with in its attempt to purchase the nearby Atlantic Club.
The AC “Resorts” property, once owned by Resorts Casino International, was divested by the group last decade in the face of a possible closure and mountains of corporate debt, and is operated today by the Mohegan tribe of Connecticut, which also runs that state’s giant Mohegan Sun complex.
PokerStars FINALLY Comes to New Jersey (March 21, 2016)
After much speculation, PokerStars finally announced – and rather quietly – that they would be running a soft launch in New Jersey on March 16th, limiting game play to just 8 hours a day through March 20th. As many as 500 players will be allowed to participate in the soft launch leading up to the Stars opening the site up for round-the-clock game play on March 21st.
From then on out, the proverbial flood gates will open up to New Jersey poker players, and it is expected that PokerStars will most likely surpass sites like 888 and WSOP.com as the premier online poker option in the state. There’s no estimates on actual real money traffic that Stars is expecting, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it come close or exceed to 500 to 1,000 active users on the site during peak times.
Players who previously had a PokerStars account will be allowed to have their old accounts reinstated automatically. On top of that, old players who reinstate their accounts will also have their prior VIP status restored as well. Old FPP’s will also be converted into StarsCoins, which can of course be used towards additional rewards in the VIP store.
Other Regulated New Jersey Online Poker Sites
As of the writing of this article, there are several major online poker sites operating in New Jersey. WSOP.com, PartyPoker NJ, Borgata Poker and 888 Poker NJ are currently the featured online properties in the state. However, the aforementioned PokerStars will be joining the party in March 2016 and is expected to be a major player in the market.
According to data aggregator PokerScout.com, 888 and WSOP.com dominate the NJ real money traffic scene, with over 400 players online during peak hours. WSOP.com is actually powered by 888’s software and share player pools. It will be interesting to see how long those figures hold after PokerStars enters the fray.
TOP POKER SITES
- PokerStars
- $600
- 888 Poker
- $400
- William Hill
- £1,200
- Betsafe Poker
- $1,000
- Bet-at-Home
- €1,500
- Guts Poker
- $/€/£300
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How to find the right casino for you
Choosing which New Jersey online casino is best for you is most definitely a personal decision. It starts with deciding what you want in an online casino, what’s most important to you and what you can and can’t live without.
It requires a little research into which casinos offer what features and can begin with a look at the following list of factors that tend to separate NJ casinos from one other.
- Bonus offers: Online casinos in New Jersey want your business, and they’re willing to offer up various bonuses to get it. There are bonuses for signing up and depositing. For the most part, the bigger the bonus, the better it is. Just make sure you read the fine print and understand what’s required of you. You’ll almost always have to meet certain wagering requirements to get your hands on the bonus. Alongside the size of a bonus, be sure to consider how easy it is to clear these requirements when you evaluate the bonus.
- Game options: Most online casino apps have a pretty decent selection of games and promise something for everyone. However, the very best NJ online casino will have a huge selection of games and can almost guarantee you’ll find your favorite game titles there.
- Software developers: The software platform is truly its heart. Functionality, ease-of-use and game selection are all tied to it. Most casino sites in New Jersey run on high-quality software platforms. However, the very top casinos also partner with a number of software studios, allowing them to offer additional casino content to customers.
- Payment options: Regulators ensure New Jersey casinos pay quickly and accurately when you make a withdrawal request. Payouts are typically turned around within 24 to 48 hours. Depending on which NJ online casino you use, it will give you the opportunity to use a variety of withdrawal options. However, the very leading casinos have more options than others, making sure there’s at least one that’ll work for you.
- Regular promotions: New Jersey’s casino apps want to keep your business as well, and they’re willing to offer up regular promotions to do it. There are regular promos and loyalty programs designed to keep you around. Just read the fine print and make sure you understand what’s required of you. Just like sign-up and deposit bonuses, most promos require you to meet specific gambling requirements, and you have to take that into consideration when evaluating the value of the promo.
Which casino games can I play for real money in NJ?
Real money casinos in NJ allow you to play hundreds of online casino games and online slots. That means online versions of traditional table games, live dealer table games, online versions of your favorite slot machines. This includes some slots that are found exclusively online. It also means your favorite video poker, keno, bingo and Slingo games.
Here’s a more specific look at what games are available:
Online slots: A blend of classics and modern favorites including everything from penny slots to progressive jackpot slots. Top slot designers like IGT, Scientific Games, NYX Gaming, High 5, WMS Gaming and Amaya Gaming are well-represented. You can also play live games at select casinos. Similar to live dealer, the casino host plays the slot machine with you and a group of players. If the machine wins, everyone wins.
Here’s a look at ten of the most popular online slots at various NJ online casinos:
- 88 Fortunes
- Captain Nemo
- Cleopatra
- Da Vinci Diamonds
- Divine Fortune
- Mega Moolah
- Quick Hit
- Siberian Storm
- Wheel of Fortune
- Wolf Run
Table games: Online versions of traditional table games like blackjack, roulette, baccarat and craps. Plus, online versions of carnival and alternative card games like three card poker, Let It Ride, pai gow poker and Casino Hold’em.
Slingo: Combining traditional bingo, slots and casino games, Slingo has a growing number of titles available at NJ online casinos. Flagship titles include Slingo, Slingo Riches, Slingo Extreme and Slingo Boom. There are also Slingo games based on game shows like Slingo Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Slingo Deal or No Deal.
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Progressive jackpots: Popular slots where a percentage of every dollar put into the game is siphoned off into a progressive jackpot. The jackpot grows with every spin and doesn’t stop growing until someone wins it. Online casinos in NJ have the largest collection of progressive jackpot slots. The most popular titles include:
- Divine Fortune
- Going Nuts
- IGT MegaJackpots Cleopatra
- IGT MegaJackpots Siberian Storm
- Loot’enkhamun
- Mercy of the Gods
- Mermaid’s Millions
- MGM Grand Millions
- Oktoberfest Spins
- Wonderland
Live dealer: Play your favorite casino table games in real-time with a real dealer. You watch the action simulcast from a studio in New Jersey and bet on it using an online interface. Live dealer games are available in NJ, include blackjack, roulette, baccarat, Casino Hold’em and three card poker.
Online bingo: Traditional bingo played online, where cards are less expensive, the prize pools are bigger, it’s easier to play multiple cards and accuracy is guaranteed. You can play bingo online in NJ, however the game is limited to a select few casinos. The latest NJ casinos offering this game include Tropicana and Virgin Casino.
Online Poker New Jersey
How are online gambling sites regulated in NJ?
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcementregulates gambling across the state, including all NJ online casinos. That oversight starts with a set of rules and regulations that govern online gambling in the state.
These rules include the fact you have to be 21 or older and inside state lines to play at licensed NJ casinos. The rules and regulations also include a mandate that New Jersey casinos segregate player funds and ensure your money is always available and protected.
The NJDGE also oversees the following tasks:
- Tests all the games to ensure integrity and fairness.
- Investigates all online casino license applicants and approves licenses.
- Audits financial filings.
- Runs the state’s self-exclusion program for problem gamblers.
- Provides information on the New Jersey online casino industry, including statistical and financial reports and public records.
- Handles public complaints and other issues the public may have with NJ casinos online, including a hearing and adjudication process.