In a month marked by unprecedented highs for New Jersey’s gambling industry, the state shattered multiple revenue records in January, signaling a robust start to 2024. However, amidst the celebration, there was a notable occurrence as traditional in-person casino earnings experienced a decline.

Internet Gambling and Sports Betting Reach Historic Highs in New Jersey

According to figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, January saw remarkable spikes across key metrics. Internet gambling revenue surged to a historic $183 million, marking a nearly 20% increase from the previous year, reported Associated Press. Sports betting also saw a monumental rise, with earnings reaching nearly $171 million, reflecting a staggering uptick of more than 136%.

While these numbers are cause for celebration, they also underscore a shifting landscape in the gambling industry. James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, highlighted the enduring impact of online gaming and sports wagering, emphasizing their role in providing a competitive advantage to operators, especially during traditionally slower periods like Atlantic City’s off-season.

The meteoric rise of online channels can be partly attributed to external factors such as harsher winter weather, which likely diverted brick-and-mortar activity towards digital platforms. 

Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, noted this trend, suggesting that the surge in internet gaming and online sports betting totals could be a consequence of adverse weather conditions.

New Jersey’s In-Person Gambling Struggles Amidst Online Success

However, despite the remarkable performance in online segments, the core concern remains the decline in earnings from in-person gamblers. In January, in-person casino winnings totaled just over $205 million, reflecting a 3.1% decrease from the previous year. This downward trajectory is compounded by the fact that in-person earnings continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels, a trend observed since early 2020.

The disparity in performance among Atlantic City’s casinos further highlights the evolving dynamics within the industry. While newer establishments like the Borgata, Hard Rock, and Ocean reported gains in in-person earnings compared to four years ago, two-thirds of the city’s casinos are still grappling with lower revenues from traditional gambling activities.

Despite these challenges, the overall outlook for New Jersey’s gambling industry remains optimistic. The state’s casinos and tracks collectively recorded $1.71 billion in sports bets in January, setting a new record and surpassing previous benchmarks. This achievement underscores New Jersey’s resilience and reaffirms its position as a leading player in the legal sports betting landscape, alongside states like New York and Nevada.

In December 2023, New Jersey’s gambling industry saw significant growth across all segments, with total gaming revenue reaching $522.2 million, marking a 14.8% increase from the previous year.

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Gambling has had a turbulent past in almost every American state. This is because nearly all forms of gambling were prohibited nationally in 1910. However, individual states slowly began fighting for the right to allow gambling—and many of these states won their battles.

Michigan, like many others, has a long history of gambling. Many years of law changes eventually enabled the Great Lakes State to permit gambling activities. The state now generates more than $2.3 billion in revenue for the gambling market annually. 

Early Gambling

Due to the prohibition of gambling in 1910, gamblers in Michigan were left with virtually no legal options for placing wagers. The first gambling opportunity for these players occurred 23 years later, in 1933.

That year, the local government decided to allow pari-mutuel bets to be placed on horse racing events. This decision was written into law under the Racing Act of 1933, thus becoming the first legal form of gambling in the region. 

To regulate the placement of wagers and their revenue, the state created the Office of the Racing Commissioner. The office was responsible for allocating race schedules and issuing licenses to any track that wanted to accept bets.

Any raceway accepting wagers was quickly flooded with fans eager to partake in legal gambling—there was no denying that gambling was immensely popular among Michigan residents. Despite this, no new laws to provision further betting games were introduced until almost 40 years later. 

The Beginning of Change

In 1972, voters in the state took to the polls to show their support for establishing a state lottery. Overwhelming numbers voted in favor of the idea, which was quickly ratified through an amendment (Public Act 239) to the state’s constitution. Within the same year, the Michigan Lottery was founded.

The same year, further work was done to legalize other forms of gambling. Public Act 382 was passed, allowing charities and non-profit organizations to legally organize raffles, millionaire parties, and bingo games. 

Following this, there was another lull period of gambling law initiatives. The only notable adjustment happened in 1981 when the legislature, after seeing how popular the lottery had become, passed a regulation stating that lottery revenues would be issued to the state’s School Aid Fund.

Three years later, Fred Dakota, a tribal member of Keweenaw Bay, brought a challenge against the local legislature over its ability to regulate tribal gambling. A few months later, the first tribal-owned casino in America, Kings Club Casino, was opened in Michigan within the tribal region of Brimley. 

Rapid Advancement

Following the precedent set by Kings Club Casino, other tribal operators began petitioning the state to allow for more casino openings. Not much progress occurred on this front until 1993, when the state signed an agreement with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

This agreement allowed for the formation of another tribal casino on one condition: two percent of all winnings from the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort was to be paid to the state. Proceeding as planned, the casino was launched, offering players more variety in available casino games. 

Three years later, talk began about allowing commercial casinos to operate in the state. Following a vote undertaken by state residents, Proposal E was approved. This proposal suggested the issuing of licenses to three casinos that were to be constructed in Detroit. 

In 1997, Proposal E evolved into the Michigan Gaming Control & Revenue Act and was officially instated into law. As described, it allowed for three commercial casinos, all opening between 1999 and 2000. 

Online Gambling Bills

The government was happy with the gambling regulations of the early 2000s. However, by the early 2010s, the advent of online casinos and gambling platforms led to further questions and investigations. 

In 2014, the lottery was the first form of gambling in the state to offer online services. At the time, online casinos were still not covered under local regulation, and sports betting was still controlled nationally.

Two years after this, Senator Mike Kowall proposed a bill to make provisions for online casinos— though the bill only applied to tribal or commercial casinos already operating in the state. However, the bill failed and was rejected again a year later.

By 2017, Republican Brandt Iden took up the fight and proposed a new bill that placed tribal casinos under the regulation of the Michigan Gaming Control Board and made provisions for the regulation of sports betting—despite it still being wholly illegal at the time.

After the landmark federal ruling that allowed states to decide on sports betting legality in 2018, favor for the bill increased, and it was finally approved. However, it was vetoed by Governor Rick Snyder and fell flat. 

Online Evolution

Reappearing in 2019, Iden proposed a series of bills that would establish a legal framework for online casinos, regulation for online and in-person sports betting, provision for online poker, and laws for fantasy sports. This time, the bill was passed and signed into law by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Just one year after these laws were officially instituted, three commercial and several tribal sportsbooks were launched. Transitioning online took slightly longer due to the slow issuing of licensing by the state. 

In 2021, however, multiple sites, such as the Hollywood online casino in Michigan, were launched. Alongside these online casinos, numerous sportsbooks and poker websites gave access to various other online gambling options. 

The success of these online gambling platforms has been evident. In the first year of online gambling availability, gamblers in the state wagered an impressive $3.7 billion. In 2022, this increased to $4.6 billion, with many expecting the industry to continue growing and evolving as players take advantage of their hard-earned gambling freedoms. 

The post Michigan’s changing gambling market appeared first on Keno Wizard.

As a result, iGaming Platform (iGP) will assume its new contemporary identity through a recently-revealed and sleek website. This move is hailed as a milestone in the company’s evolution and a bold step forward with the idea of ensuring that the business communicates across to its clients core values such as innovation, integrity, excellence, empowerment, and customer centricity with ease and confidence.

iGP All Set on Delivering More Exceptional Products

The company was established in 2016 and it has been able to deliver some of the most worthwhile iGaming experiences. Working with iGP has allowed companies to set up and launch their business quickly and efficiently.

Since it launched, the company has worked with more than 40 casinos and 100 leading game providers, helping them gain further traction in the industry. As the rebranding is taking place, iGP is planning to launch new functionalities and products for customers, which will significantly improve the back office.

iGP COO Matthew Calascione has welcomed the latest milestone on a good note and said that the dedicated team at the company has worked relentlessly to build a successful business and help partners achieve their goals:

We take immense pride in presenting our true identity and the remarkable talent, products, and services available at iGP. This rebrand marks the start of an exciting journey as we gear up for a series of industry-leading events in the coming months, commencing with SBC Summit Barcelona in September.

iGP COO Matthew Calascione

iGP to Continue Writing Its Own Success Story

The news was fittingly also welcomed by company CEO Giovanni Paticchio who said that the platform has undergone a series of positive and forward-thinking changes culminating in the most recent rebranding.

He argued that under its new identity, iGP will continue to pursue greatness and create new success stories for clients and its own business. The company provides a range of solutions for iGaming businesses, including proprietary technologies, third-party integrations, crypto casinos, turnkey casinos, white-label casinos, and others.

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