New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement has finally given online poker room, Poker Stars, the green light to begin operations in the state’s igambling industry. Amaya, parent company of Poker Stars, said that Monday, March 21st was the date that the site would go live for players in the Garden State.
Online casino and poker games would be available from this date at PokerStarsNJ.com, the group said.
The news is considered a breakthrough for Poker Stars which saw its request to enter the New Jersey online poker industry turned down twice in the past. The Poker Stars brand, along with Full Tilt Poker, was shut out of the US online gambling market in 2011 on a day known as Black Friday.
Since then Amaya has attempted to get the brand through the front door of legal online poker in New Jersey by applying for an operating license with the relevant authorities. The Division of Gaming Enforcement seems to have softened its policy of keeping ‘bad actors’ out of the market by allowing Poker Stars in, after the company showed its commitment to the standards set by the authority.
The chairman and chief executive officer of Amaya Gaming, David Baazov said that Poker Stars was a global leader in online poker and was trusted by its customers for its robust and innovative technology, world class security and game integrity. He added that Amaya was “honored and excited” to bring these experiences to New Jersey.
Poker Stars will partner with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City – a requirement put forth by the gaming authorities in the state that servers need to be physically located at local casino establishments. The group will be competing with other big brands in the industry for a piece of the proverbial pie, namely WSOP/888 and PartyPoker/Borgata.
New Jersey has one of the least oppressive set of laws relating to gambling in the United States. Licensed operators are allowed to offer off-track betting, amusement games, casino gambling in Atlantic City, charity gambling and lottery games. In 2013, the state instituted legal intrastate online gambling, and the government is currently challenging federal law which does not allow the state to offer legal sports betting.
New Jersey’s online gambling laws allow players over the age of 21 to play from a computer within the state, with their location verified by GPS tracking systems.
