New Jersey has 11 casinos in which you'll find more than 23,064 slots and gaming machines. There are a total of 1352 table games. The minimum bet we've found at casinos in New Jersey is $0.01 and the maxium bet is $50,000. Click a casino on the left for more information on a particular property.

If you wish to stay at some nice casino hotels in New Jersey, visit the New Jersey casino hotels page. We actually have 16 New Jersey hotels you can book directly from World Casino Directory. Click here to see a list of all New Jersey hotels available.

There is poker in New Jersey! You will find over 173 live poker tables to play at. You will find the following games in New Jersey casinos: Stud, Limit Holdem, NL Holdem, PLO - 9, NL Texas Hold'em, 7 Card Stud, Omaha 8 or Better, Texas Hold'em, Mixed Games, Pot Limit Hold 'Em, Tournaments, Omaha. Some New Jersey casinos also offer convention centers and meeting spaces. Over the entire town, you will find a total of 870,000 conference sq/ft space in the various casino properties.

History of Gambling in New Jersey

Gambling in New Jersey – The Early Days

The state of New Jersey has had a colorful past in the context of gambling. There are many important dates for gambling and gaming enthusiasts to remember in New Jersey. In the year 1969, the state approved the first state lottery. The proceeds of the lottery were used to fund education in the state; several schools were built using the money that was raised.

The First Casinos in New Jersey

Then, in 1976, New Jersey became the second state in the US to legalize gambling. The state allowed gambling casinos to operate in order to raise money for the disabled and the elderly. 1978 was a landmark year for the state of New Jersey. That was the year when the first casino opened in New Jersey at Atlantic City. The distinction of being the first casino in New Jersey goes to the Resorts International Casino. The casino is still open today. Over the next few years, over 16 new casinos opened in the state, but most of them were primarily concentrated in Atlantic City.

The way the casinos first came into existence in New Jersey makes for interesting reading. Sometime in the late 1960s, resorts in New Jersey were facing a peculiar problem: many of them were unable to attract visitors. A number of them shut down, and some others were converted to housing projects. There were a few that survived the problem, such as the Ambassador, the Madison, and the Dennis. Once gambling was legalized in the state, some of these re-invented themselves as casinos.

For instance, the first casino in the state, Resorts International, was originally the Chalfonte-Haddon Hotel. This hotel was converted and Resorts International came into existence. Another such instance of a casino being built from a hotel/resort is the Tropicana Hotel and Casino, which was built on the steel framework of the Ambassador.

Casinos in New Jersey – The Glory Days

The state of New Jersey has mostly played second fiddle to the state of Nevada, as Nevada had legalized gambling earlier than New Jersey. However, there was a period, during the 1970s and 1980s, when it was definitely ahead of Nevada. This was because of a high crime rate in Nevada and also the alleged involvement of organized crime in the gaming world.

The fact that Mike Tyson fought most of his fights in the state helped increase the popularity of the state as a tourist destination further, something which was a major factor in the popularity of the casinos.

However, despite all such efforts, the state of New Jersey has had a tough time positioning itself as a casino destination. The going has got tougher now that a number of other states in the country, including many on the East Coast, have also legalized gambling. The state has not given up the fight yet, however. Plans are underfoot to build a number of new casinos.

Gambling in New Jersey – The Future

The future of gambling in New Jersey is, by no means, bleak. There are plans to build a number of casinos here to provide increased incentive for tourists to come here. For instance, the MGM Mirage Board has approved plans to build the MGM Grand Atlantic City on 60 acres of land next to the Borgata casino.

The project, called the City Center East, will have 3,000 rooms and 500,000 sq ft in casino space. This would make it the largest casino pace in the state – 5000 slot machines, over 200 table games and a poker room that is on par with the rest of the specifications.

Gambling Controversies in New Jersey

There have been some gambling-related controversies in the state of New Jersey as well. In late 2007, the gambling commission of New Jersey State was in the news for refusing to renew the Tropicana Resort Casino’s license, only the second time such an incident had occurred.

Earlier in 2007, there was yet another controversial ruling and a statute that limits smoking to 25% of the total casino space in any casino. Several casino insiders, including Trump Entertainment’s Donald Trump, have criticized the ruling, stating that this gives the casinos in neighboring states an unfair advantage over New Jersey.

There is also a catch to the legalization of gambling in the state of New Jersey – it applies only to traditional land-based casinos. It does not apply to the newer form of gambling that has materialized with the arrival of the Internet – online gambling. Online gambling is still non-regulated and illegal in the state. In fact, gambling online is illegal not just in New Jersey, but also in almost all the states in the US.

Legal Aspects of New Jersey Gambling – An Overview

Statistics show that gambling in casinos is the preferred type of gambling in the US, and New Jersey is no exception. Be that as it may, many states in the US, including New Jersey, have laws that prevent any kind of gambling unless it has been authorized by the Legislature.

To quote the law, “no gambling of any kind shall be authorized by the Legislature unless the specific kind, restrictions and control thereof have been heretofore submitted to, and authorized by a majority of the votes cast by, the people at a special election or shall hereafter be submitted to, and authorized by a majority of the votes cast thereon by, the legally qualified voters of the State voting at a general election...”.

The above is an excerpt of the Constitution of the state of New Jersey, Article 4, Section 7, Paragraph 2, which talks about gambling. So what are the games that fulfill the conditions that have been stipulated by the Legislature? The full list of games that are legal in New Jersey can be found at the Legalized Games of Chance Control Commission Home Page. To give you a rough idea, the commission oversees the operation of more than 1000 games which are operated by more than 12,000 organizations in the state.

The games include bingo, keno, and many other casino games – poker and its many variations and other card games are also part of them. The organizations operating these games include charitable organizations, educational, religious, and patriotic as well as public spirited organizations, including senior citizens clubs and associations.

Some Gambling Rules in New Jersey
The rules and regulations in New Jersey that govern the games of chance and amusement are several, including not advertising the games in any form. If you are organizing these games in non-commercial premises (a good example of which is a home poker game), you are not legally permitted to sell liquor to the players. In the case of games being held in commercial premises, you are not allowed to sell liquor when a game is in progress. Players can, however, bring their own liquor.

Organizations operating gambling games can use the proceeds for capital improvement as long as these organizations are religious, charitable, patriotic, educational, civic, or service oriented. However, all organizations operating these games must apply for and obtain a gaming license, which they must display on the premises.

Persons who are under the legal age of 18 are not allowed to participate in the games. No gaming activities are allowed Sundays; games are not allowed for more than six days in a month. Admission fees for the games should be in accordance with the norms prescribed by the regulations for the game, and there are limitations to the amount of the prize money that is being awarded as well.

The organization hosting the games should maintain a record of all expenses and receipts pertaining to the games and provide them to the control commission on a regular basis. The books and records of the organization should be available to the control commission – in other words the organization must make full disclosure of information at all times.

The laws pertaining to gambling in New Jersey state that the license to host games can and will be revoked if any violations of the norms are detected. The primary objective of the control commission is to make sure that the general public does not get deceived or deprived in any manner while participating in these games or amusements.

647:1 Lotteries. –

A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if he knowingly and unlawfully:

    I. Conducts a lottery or disposes or offers to dispose of property in any way whereby the payment for such property is, in whole or in part, induced by the hope of gain by luck or chance; or

    II. Sells, offers for sale, or possesses for the purpose of sale, any lottery ticket or other thing which is evidence that the purchaser will be entitled to a share or chance in a lottery or deposits for mailing any such ticket or thing, or notice of the drawing of a lottery; or

    III. Publishes or deposits for mailing information as to the location or identity of the person where or from whom a ticket or other thing described in paragraph II may be obtained.

    IV. "Unlawfully'' means not specifically authorized by law.

647:2 Gambling. –

I. A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if such person knowingly and unlawfully:

(a) Permits gambling in any place under the person's control.

(b) Gambles, or loans money or any thing of value for the purpose of aiding another to gamble.

(c) Possesses a gambling machine.

I-a. (a) A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if such person conducts, finances, manages, supervises, directs, or owns all or part of a business and such person knowingly and unlawfully permits gambling on the premises of the business.

(b) A person is guilty of a class B felony if such person conducts, finances, manages, supervises, directs, or owns all or part of a business and such person knowingly and unlawfully conducts, finances, manages, supervises, or directs any gambling activity on the business premises which does any of the following:

          (1) Has had gross revenue of $2,000 in any single day.

          (2) Has been or remains in substantially continuous operation for a period in excess of 10 days.

          (3) Accepts wagers exceeding $5,000 during any 30 day period on future contingent events.

II. For purposes of this section:

(a) "Antique gambling machine'' means any device or equipment at least 25 years old which is in the possession of a collector and which is not maintained or operated for gambling purposes.

(b) "Collector'' means a person who for nostalgic reasons, monetary investment, or personal interest acquires antique gambling machines as defined in subparagraph (a) for personal display or retention.

(c) "Family entertainment center'' means a place of business having at least 50 games or devices designed and manufactured only for bona fide amusement purposes on premises which are operated for the entertainment of the general public and tourists as a bona fide entertainment facility and not having more than 15 percent of the total games or machines being redemption slot machines or redemption poker machines.

(d) "Gambling'' means to risk something of value upon a future contingent event not under one's control or influence, upon an agreement or understanding that something of value will be received in the event of a certain outcome.

(e) "Gambling machine" means any device or equipment which is capable of being used to discharge money or anything that may be exchanged for money, or to display any symbol entitling a person to receive money.

(f) "Redemption slot machine'' or "redemption poker machine'' means any device or equipment which operates by means of the insertion of a coin or token and which may entitle the person playing or operating the game or machine the opportunity of additional chances or free plays or to receive points or coupons which may be exchanged for merchandise only, excluding cash and alcoholic beverages, provided the value for such points or coupons does not exceed 2 1/2 cents for each credit on the game or machine.       

(g) "Unlawfully'' means not specifically authorized by law or not solely for amusement, without stake or possibility of gain or loss.

III. All implements, equipment, and apparatus used in violation of this section shall be forfeited.

IV. An antique gambling machine in the possession of a collector and which is not maintained or operated for gambling purposes shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.

V. This section shall not apply to:

(a) Dispenser devices approved by the sweepstakes commission which are located at the regular meeting place of, or at a facility owned, leased, or utilized by, a charitable organization licensed under RSA 287-E:20.

(b) A family entertainment center having redemption slot machines or redemption poker machines.

(c) Cruise ships which are equipped with gambling machines whose primary purpose is touring. Any such cruise ship shall be allowed to temporarily enter New Hampshire coastal waters and ports for up to 48 hours, provided that all gambling machines on board are not in use or capable of being used while in New Hampshire coastal waters and ports. For the purposes of this paragraph "cruise ship'' means any vessel which is capable of providing overnight accommodations for 500 or more people.

Gambling Contracts

338:1 Title to Money, etc. – No title or interest in money or any other thing can be acquired, lost, or changed by gambling, or by the payment, delivery, or transfer by any losing party. No note or security for any supposed debt growing out of a gambling transaction, or for money lent to gamble with or to pay gambling debts with, shall be valid. No such debt shall be a legal consideration for any contract or transaction, and any person may take advantage of such illegality, though a party to the transaction.

338:2 Bets Void. – All bets and wagers upon any question where the parties have no interest in the subject except that created by the wager are void; and either party may recover any property by him deposited, paid or delivered upon such wager or its loss, and repel any action brought for anything, the right or claim to which grows out of such bet or wager.

338:3 Recovery of Property. – If any person shall receive any money or property, won by him upon any bet or wager as aforesaid, he shall be liable to the person losing it, in an action of assumpsit, trover or other form proper to recover it; and any security given for the payment of such loss shall be void.

338:4 Contracts Deemed Bets. – Any contract or agreement for the purchase, sale, loan, payment, or use of money or property, real or personal, the terms of which are made to depend upon, or are to be varied or affected by, any uncertain event in which the parties have no interest except that created by such contract or agreement shall be deemed a bet or wager.

Licensed Games

Chapter 284: Horse and Dog Racing....

Chapter 285: Boxing and Wrestling Commission....

Chapter 286: Licensing Shows, Open-Air Meetings, Billiard Tables, and Bowling Alleys....

Chapter 287-A: Raffles....

Chapter 287-C: Manufacture of Gambling Machines....

Chapter 287-D: Games of Chance

287-D:1 Definitions. –

In this chapter:

I. "Applicant" means an individual applying for a license under this chapter.

II. "Bona fide member" means a person who has held full and regular membership in the charitable organization for a period of not less than 60 days immediately prior to the games of chance in which such person intends to participate. To qualify as a bona fide member of a charitable organization, a person shall:

(a) Satisfy all criteria for membership in the charitable organization.

(b) Pay all lawful fees or dues required by the charitable organization.

(c) Not have become a member solely for the purpose of operating games of chance.