The US state of New Jersey has started ‘soft’ trial of 13 online gambling websites, prior to the official debut of Internet gaming on 26 November.
So far, only two of 50 states in the US, Nevada and Delaware, permitted online gambling, with serious limitations in place.
The new directives requires that only people within the state can play, while individual states may perhaps let online gambling if it does not go beyond the limits.
Operators of online gambling sites anticipate the success of poker sites in New Jersey would spur close by heavily populated states to follow suit.
According to the New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, six Internet gaming permit holders had been approved to start ‘soft play’ on a trial basis from 21 November, following a dynamic testing.
Division of Gaming Enforcement director David Rebuck said in a statement that the soft opening will be used to demonstrate to the division that all systems perform as required under the stress of live gaming and that operational and revenue reporting controls are effective.
"Staff will continually assess the progress of each platform provider before allowing them to open gaming to the general public on November 26," Rebuck said.
Permit holders include Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Bally’s Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City.
The trials are aimed at determining whether technology designed to assure that all gamblers are in New Jersey and 21 years old works accurately, while also assessing electronic payment technology as well as the reliability and functionality of the casino games.
A report from Morgan Stanley projects that the legal US online gambling revenues is anticipated to reach $670m nest year, as well reach $9.3bn in 2020.
