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12 Atlantic City Casinos Race For Lead in NJ Online Gambling Market

In February the state of New Jersey passed legislation allowing legal Internet gambling for its residents and visitors, the third state to do so. And with lawmakers ready to fling wide the virtual doors to online gamers in November, all 12 Atlantic City casinos are scrambling to become the first to obtain coveted Internet gaming permits. The state had imposed a deadline of Sunday, July 7 for the first wave of Internet gaming license applications, and the dozen physical Atlantic City casinos just beat that time constraint.

Physical casinos in New Jersey are looking to offset any possible losses incurred by the World Wide Web offering 24/7 casino-style access to potential customers online. And unlike Nevada, New Jersey chose to legalize multiple forms of casino gambling, not just online poker. In what is calculated to be anywhere from a $500 million to $1 billion revenue generator for the Garden State in its first year, online gambling is going to be a big money business. And those brick-and-mortar Atlantic City casinos which can properly position themselves to offer both "real world" and Internet gambling before their competitors stand to profit as industry leaders for years to come.

The Tropicana Casino and Resort, The Trump Taj Mahal, Borgata and Caesars Entertainment all announced their plans to join in the New Jersey online gambling industry. And with state gambling officials announcing the earliest online gaming will occur in New Jersey on November 23, that does not leave casino owners and operators much time to develop an infrastructure, launch and test their online casino software, and create e-commerce solutions. Also, physical computer servers offering Internet gambling in New Jersey must be located in Atlantic City.

Lisa Spengler is a spokesman for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), and she officially confirm that all 12 casinos have applied for an Internet gaming license, and all standard an even chance of receiving the much-anticipated first license. Donald Trump's Taj Mahal has partnered up with Ultimate Gaming, the first company to officially deal virtual poker in Nevada earlier this year. The Taj Mahal hopes that the presence of a partnership agreement with the only company currently providing legal online gambling in the United States will pave the way for a quick "rubber stamp" approval of their Internet gambling license in New Jersey.

Other businesses may continue to apply by the July 29 deadline, but the later a company's application comes in, the later they are reviewed. This almost guarantees that one of the well known Jersey shore casinos will be the first to operate a NJ virtual casino, providing Internet gambling access to New Jersey residents during the holiday shopping season this year. The state has reserved the right to push back the online gambling launch date, but is pushing hard for a November delivery. The casino which best convinces the DGE that their online gaming platform is reliable, safe and ready to launch ahead of the other applicants will surely become more attractive in the selection process, and that moves the Trump Taj Mahal/Ultimate Gaming team to the front of the line.