NJ.com – More than 100,000 online gambling accounts have been created in New Jersey since internet betting became legal in the state four weeks ago, officials said today.
The state Division of Gaming Enforcement said 109,946 accounts had been created by the end of Sunday. More than 18,000 were created in the last week.
“We have seen a steady and continual increase in site traffic since Nov. 21 due to the outreach of the casino operators,” David Rebuck, the director of the division and the state’s top gaming official, said in a statement. “We are encouraged by their marketing efforts and are optimistic for the future of New Jersey’s internet gaming industry.”
Exactly how many people are actually playing on the websites — run by seven Atlantic City casinos in conjunction with online gaming companies — remains unclear. Regulators have not audited those figures. In addition, one person can create accounts at different websites, and some may be creating accounts but not playing.
The casinos were allowed to start testing their systems on Nov. 21. Most were allowed to open up the websites to the general public the day before Thanksgiving — exactly nine months after Gov. Chris Christie signed a law permitting web betting.
The city’s dozen casinos have been struggling in recent years as new competition opened up in neighboring states and the economic recession deepened fiscal woes there. Total gambling revenue has fallen more than 40 percent from its peak of $5.2 billion in 2006.
