Licences for commercial and tribal operators under one framework
Michigan
The state that brought commercial and tribal online operators into a single licensing structure.
Licensed online casino
New Jersey
The state that established the American online casino model, live since November 2013.
| Product | Position | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Online casino | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Sports betting | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Online poker | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Lottery | State monopoly | Reserved to a state or state-controlled operator; no commercial licence is available. |
How the market works
New Jersey launched internet gaming in November 2013 and for a decade was the largest regulated online casino market in the United States. The model ties online operation to Atlantic City: an online brand runs under the permit of a land-based casino licensee, which is why American online casino brands are normally paired with a named property and why market entry means a commercial deal with a casino as well as a regulatory application.
The state's technical standards became the template for those that followed, particularly on geolocation. An operator must establish to a specified confidence that the customer is physically inside state lines when a wager is placed, and must re-check during a session, which is why American online gambling depends on a geolocation industry that barely exists in Europe.
New Jersey also brought the case that ended the federal prohibition on sports wagering outside Nevada in 2018, so the spread of American sports betting dates from a New Jersey lawsuit rather than from an act of Congress. Multi-state online poker liquidity sharing includes New Jersey as well.
Who regulates it
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), based in Trenton and operating under Casino Control Act; Internet gaming legislation of 2013. The division that licensed the first substantial online casino market in the United States, live since November 2013.
Licence types issued
- Internet gaming permit (held via a casino licensee)
- Casino service industry enterprise licence
- Sports wagering licence
Questions about New Jersey
Other markets in North America
Interactive gaming licence, poker only
Nevada
The oldest major gaming jurisdiction, with a long sports betting history but no online casino.
Prohibited online casino
Registration with a provincial conduct-and-manage entity
Ontario
The first competitive regulated online market in Canada, open since April 2022 and the largest in North America for casino play.
Licensed online casino
Interactive gaming certificate held by a land-based licensee
Pennsylvania
A large American online casino market, and the one with the heaviest tax on online slot revenue.
Licensed online casino
Background reading
Legal and compliance
What a gaming licence actually covers
A licence is not a badge of quality and it is not valid everywhere. What it authorises, who it binds, and why one company often holds a dozen.
Legal and compliance
How gambling is taxed, and why the base matters
A tax on stakes and a tax on gross gaming revenue can carry the same headline number and produce completely different businesses.
Legal and compliance
How a company enters a new market
The sequence from legal assessment to launch, and the parts that routinely take longer than anyone plans for.
Legal and compliance
What grey and black markets actually mean
The industry uses three words for the legal status of a market and rarely defines them. Here is what each one means in practice.