NJ.com – For those looking to play a hand of poker, pull down on a slot machine or roll the dice from the confines of their own homes, it seems Hudson County might just be the place to do it.
During the first 100 days of legal online gambling in New Jersey, three Hudson County cities ranked among the top 20 municipalities in the state in terms of usage on websites operated by Caesars Interactive, according to a study done by the company.
Jersey City ranked No. 2 on the list, while Hoboken (No. 4) and Bayonne (No. 14) were not far behind. North Bergen came in at 26th on the list, while Union City and Kearny are also among the top 80. Toms River was No. 1 on the list, which is based on data collected from Nov. 21, 2013 to Feb. 28 this year
“We don’t have any rationale for why it is that the towns rank so high,” said Caesars Interactive spokesman Seth Palansky. “We have just strictly pulled the numbers for the first 100 days of operating in the marketing and that is what the data shows us. There is no linkage, special marketing or initiatives targeting (Hudson County) over others.”
While the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement does not have information publicly available on internet gaming accounts by area or winnings, 291,241 accounts have been created on the 14 DGE-approved websites. Seven casinos — the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, the Tropicana Casino and Resort, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Bally’s Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City, and the Golden Nugget — account for the running of those sites.
With New Jersey now legalizing online gambling – the third state to do so after Nevada and Delaware – Caesars Interactive sees these signups as just the beginning. Caesars Interactive runs HarrahsCasino.com, CaesarsCasino.com and WSOP.com.
Through the first 100 days, the average user spent 43 minutes on HarrahsCasino.com and CaesarsCasino.com, while users on the World Series of Poker site spent an average of 76 minutes online, according to Caesars Interactive. WSOP.com saw 26 percent of play on its site done through mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones.
