Online Gambling in New Jersey Likely to See a Boost, Poll Finds

Atlantic City casinos shouldn’t expect any dip in business this year, if a recent Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey poll is any indication.

The online gambling community should expect a spike over the next year, according to the poll.

According to the poll released Thursday, 81 percent of the 690 New Jersey adults interviewed who gambled in Atlantic City casinos in the last year say they intend to visit Atlantic City as many times this year. Another 10 percent plan to visit more often, and 7 percent said they would likely gamble less often.

Atlantic City has seen local competition recently, with the emergence of the Pennsylvania gaming industry. It remains the largest threat to New Jersey, as 28 percent of respondents say they have gambled in Pennsylvania. Another 13 percent have traveled to Nevada, while 8 percent have visited New York followed by Florida (5 percent), Delaware (3 percent) and Maryland (2 percent). About 11 percent gambled in casinos outside of the United States.

Online gambling became legal in New Jersey in November, and 2.5 percent of New Jersey gamblers have gambled on Atlantic City casino websites since.

A recent Press of Atlantic City report projects online gambling won’t bring in the revenue Gov. Chris Christie previously hoped for, but 7 percent of respondents said they were more likely to gamble online in 2014.

 “These numbers are promising for Atlantic City,” said Dr. Israel Posner, director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute. “Visitors from New Jersey are willing to come back to Atlantic City just as often or more often this year than they did last year. Interest in online gambling is growing and should continue to grow once marketing efforts and promotions take off.”

Additionally, sports betting is currently illegal in all but four states, but some New Jersey officials are seeking to overturn that ban. They have the support of 55 percent of gamblers in the state, and 21.5 percent of respondents said they would be more likely to gamble on sports if it were legal.

Football is the preferred avenue for gambling, as 88 percent of respondents have bet on the sport in the last year. College sports was next at 45 percent, followed by pro basketball (43 percent), pro boxing (30 percent), pro baseball (29 percent), pro hockey (28 percent), and pro soccer (9 percent).

The lottery is the most popular form of gambling, with 89 percent of respondents having engaged in the practice over the last year.

Only 11 percent say they bet on horse racing.

The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points and is larger in sub-categories. Both landlines and cell phones were called by live interviewers calling from Stockton College’s main campus in Galloway.