NJ Online Casinos Are Adding New, Creative Products In An Increasingly Competitive Market

With 18 distinct online casino brands, the New Jersey online casino market is about as hyper-competitive as it gets. As such, it’s not surprising to see some of the operators get a little more creative with their offerings as they try to stand out from the crowd.

The latest addition is the market’s second live dealer studio.

The new studio, located at Hard Rock Atlantic City, is run by Evolution Gaming, which is one of the premiere live dealer brands in the world.

Following approval from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, three of the 18 NJ online casinos launched live dealer games from the studio last week:

• PlaySugarHouse
• 888 Casino
• Hard Rock online casino

Taking into account the five online casinos offering live dealer games from Ezugi, the total number of online casinos offering live dealer games now stands at eight, with at least one more (Ocean Resort online casino) on the way.

New Jersey’s two live dealer studios

Live dealer games have become big business in New Jersey.

According to Thomas Winter, the senior vice president and general manager of online gaming at Golden Nugget, online table game revenue rose 150 percent after the launch of live dealer games in August 2016 through January 2018.

With those kinds of numbers, and with Pennsylvania in the process of launching online gaming, it was only a matter of time before another live dealer studio launched in New Jersey.

Both of Atlantic City’s live dealer studios powers several online casinos’ live dealer games:

• The Ezugi live dealer studio opened at Golden Nugget in August 2016
• The Evolution live dealer studio at Hard Rock opened on Aug. 16, 2018

Ezugi at Golden Nugget

Golden Nugget was the first NJ online casino operator to take the plunge into live dealer games. At the time it was seen as a significant risk. GN, and its partner Ezugi would have to build and maintain a live dealer studio in a market of around nine million people wholly unfamiliar with live dealer games.

Any concerns quickly evaporated, as live dealer games exceeded expectations from the start.

Golden Nugget’s success eventually led to deals allowing other New Jersey online casino operators to share or lease space in the GN live dealer studio.

The number of online casinos using the Ezugi studio stands at five:

• Golden Nugget online casino
• Betfair Casino
• Borgata online casino
• PartyCasino
• playMGM

Virtual sports

Live dealer games aren’t the only online casino innovation to wash up on the Jersey Shore.

Another popular gambling product in Europe is Inspired Gaming’s virtual sports betting. An assortment of virtual sports are available at six different NJ online casinos:

• Borgata
• playMGM
• Caesars online casino
• Golden Nugget
• Betfair
• SugarHouse

Unlike live dealer games, and despite their success in European markets, virtuals haven’t moved the needle in the  New Jersey market.

However, virtuals could get a second chance in New Jersey now that sports betting is legal.

Virtuals were first used as filler content for lulls in real-world sporting events in the UK. It took many years before virtuals grew into a product that can stand on its own.

That said, virtuals are in place at multiple Las Vegas sportsbooks, side-by-side with real-world sporting events, but thus far they haven’t gained any traction as a standalone product or as filler content.

Bingo, keno and more

Several other online gaming products in New Jersey have also quietly been launched over the years.

Bingo games are available at five online casinos:

• Pala Casino
• Golden Nugget
• SugarHouse
• Tropicana online casino
• Virgin online casino

And you’ll even find keno at PlaySugarHouse, and a DFS-casino hybrid game called FastPick at Resorts online casino.

As the market continues to grow, and online casinos try to differentiate themselves from competitors, you can expect to see more innovative and exclusive products.

What online casino games are available in New Jersey

The chart below details the games you’ll currently find at New Jersey’s 18 distinct online casinos. An updated slot and table game count can be found here.

Photo courtesy Evolution Gaming