New Jersey's Top Regulator Explains State's Gambling Success
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New Jersey's monthly sports betting figures continue to leave many longtime gaming industry figures slackjawed. September's U.S. record $1 billion in betting handle was obliterated by a $ 1.3 billion handle last month. David Rebuck, the director of New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, recently appeared on the weekly “Gamble On” podcast to discuss sports gambling and online casinos.
New Jersey is the top state in sports betting handle. Rebuck is a former assistant state attorney general and Christie's transition team member. He is grateful for the support of his employees. He doesn't want to take on a similar role in California. New Jersey has four times the population of California, which is expected to surpass New York in the future.
Sports bettors in the state complain about sportsbooks setting absurdly low limits on them. Rebuck says some operators put restrictions in to limit people because they don't want their business. He doesn't think it's as big an issue as some people make it out to be. If he's wrong, he will deal with it on a case-by-case basis. If there's a sense that sportsbook have overstepped their bounds, Rebucks will ban someone for a non-reason.
New Jersey launched its first online casino gaming in 2012. The state legislature and Christie gave DGE nine months to launch it. It was a challenge because it was nearly virgin territory in the U.S. Nevada had just begun offering online poker and Delaware was in development stage. Payment-processing companies and banks were leery of people gambling online. Rebuck met with European regulators and found a solution.
Rebuck and Governor Christie took heat for their assumptions about annual online casino gaming revenue for 2013 and 2014. The revenue figure was wrong, but it was achieved in the first 10 months of 2021. Rebck and Christie's team assumed $1.1 billion in online gambling revenues per fiscal year.
