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Things to Know About New Jersey Online Poker Law

New Jersey Online Poker Law

2013 was a big year for online poker players in the United States, and in New Jersey especially. Since 2011, when all online poker sites in the US were shut down, players have been looking to their states to get them back online and playing the game they love. And in 2013 New Jersey, along with the states of Nevada and Delaware, become one of the first US states to legalize online gambling and poker within its borders making NJ online poker finally a reality.

After an online gambling bill was successfully passed and signed early in 2013, regulators spent much of the year testing online gambling systems and processing New Jersey online poker operator licence applications. Finally, on November 26th, NJ online poker went live, with six different poker sites starting operations.

So far, online poker in New Jersey has proven to be extremely popular, as NJ online poker sites saw more than 125,000 account registered by the end of 2013. This growth is only expected to continue, as the state of New Jersey is hoping to reap more than $130 million in taxes from regulated NJ poker online in the coming year.

It is important to note that under US federal law, playing poker online is still illegal; so the New Jersey law only allows for players to play online while currently located within the borders of the state itself. This doesn't mean that out-of-state residents are prohibited from playing online poker in NJ, it just means that no matter where you live, you have to actually be inside the state in order to access New Jersey poker online.

In order to sign up for a NJ online poker account and access any of the New Jersey online poker sites, you need to be connected to the internet somewhere in New Jersey. By using IP addresses and WiFi signatures, the site attempts to determine if you actually are in the state. Some users have reported that they have been denied access to NJ online poker sites, despite actually being in the state. However, the sites state that this is out of an abundance of caution, and they are working on improving their location identification techniques.

When you create an account to play online poker in NJ you will need to provide the online poker provider with a good deal of personal information, some sites even ask you to provide pictures of you with a piece of personal identification such as a driver's licence. The extra scrutiny is not there to make a player's life difficult, but to be sure that the new law is followed exactly and that no federal laws are violated.

Once you successfully sign up, you may also find some difficulties in making a deposit with a credit card, as banks and credit card agencies are still wary about the new laws and many do not allow gambling-related transactions. However, most players report that they are able to successfully use e-wallets such as Skrill or bank account transfers to make deposits and both of those methods are highly recommended by the NJ online poker sites themselves.

With big-time players such as PokerStars still looking to enter the market, and technology and regulatory measures improving the gaming experience every day, the future of online poker in New Jersey looks bright as the state tries to position itself as one of the top gaming hubs in the United States.

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