Top 10 New Jersey online gambling facts

A lack of online gamblers makes it clear that Atlantic City's land-based casinos rule. (photo by Bob Jagendorf)

Do you ever wonder about New Jersey? That trailblazing, mythical American land of the truly free (to play online casino games)? How are things faring since the legalization of online gambling?

iGaming in the Garden State has been legal for about three years now, and a report filed by the Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies details some interesting stats about the online sphere during the 2015 calendar year. The report is heavy on the numbers, so much like the most meticulous and picky eater, we've pulled out the best, most intriguing bits for your reading pleasure.

10. Problem gambling
It’s not a pretty topic, but the numbers are fascinating. For instance, land-based only gamblers in New Jersey had less of a problem with, well, problem gambling than those who played at both land- and online-based casinos. 4.5% of people who gambled exclusively at land-based casinos were considered part of the high-risk gambling group, while a little over 36% of the land- and online-based group were counted in that same group.

Online only-players were somewhere in the middle of this unfortunate spectrum, with 14.3% being considered problem gamblers.

9. Responsible gaming features
Here's a little bit of hope for the depression brought on by the previous item: Self-exclusion was used extensively. A total of 13,422 players used the responsible gaming features, while gamblers in the age range of 25 to 34 had the highest rate of use.

Though only 23% of online gamblers were women, these same women made up 40% of RG users.

Men, who totaled 77% of all online gamblers, made up the other 60% of RG users. This means that 14% of men chose to set some limits.

8. Player totals
In total, 378,103 people signed up for accounts in New Jersey. Over 200,000 of these sign-ups were men, and more than 95,000 were women, while the rest provided no gender info. About 28% of the people who created accounts actually played on them; however, and only about 94,000 were located in the demographic area. (That's New Jersey, in case you haven't been paying attention.)

Some players were located elsewhere in the U.S., such as New York, Maryland, Georgia, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Texas.

Most of the players who registered but never ended up playing were located outside the U.S. It’s quite a spread, including places like China, Russia, the U.K., Turkey, Kuwait, Dubai, France, Canada and Hong Kong.

7. Ages of players
The average player age was 38 years old, with most applicants between 25 and 34.

The average age of a casino-only player was about 40. The range of ages ended up being anywhere from 21 to 98 years old. Poker-only players, however, were, on average, about 35. And poker tournament players? They were about 38 years old.

Most of the players came from the 25 to 34 age group. These online players tend to be younger than those who play in traditional land-based casinos.

6. Advantages and disadvantages
According to this study, two-thirds of respondents said they had gambled online before it was necessarily legal. The remaining one-third said they only started gambling online because it become legal.

But legality wasn't the only draw. It turns out that convenience was a big factor in getting these people to play, which isn't surprising, since 24-7 access and comfort followed closely behind.

But the disadvantages? Online gambling was perceived as being more addictive than playing at brick-and-mortar casinos, and the security of an online account was also brought into question.

5. Gender disparity (and lack thereof)
More than 72,000 men and 21,000 women gambled online in casinos, poker and poker tournaments in 2014. Gender disparities were smaller among casino-only gamblers, with 60% of that group composed of men and 40% women. Compared to men, a higher percentage of women played only casino games.

4. Betting at work
As with most other forms of Internet life, there are optimal times for betting.

The largest wagers were placed from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., suggesting that people like to get in a few bets before they start work, or during their lunch break.

If we're talking overall wagers, however, casino gamblers put up $603 million between 9 p.m. and 12 a.m.

The report also explains that the majority of online gamblers are employed —which is good —and that a good chunk of bettors placed bets while at work, during the traditional office hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

In total, 31% of online gamblers said they gambled online from work or during working hours. We're not going to judge your choices, but maybe don't do that.

3. Regional breakdown/average wagers
The Shore region featured the most people who played all types of online gambling, while gamblers in the Delaware region preferred casinos only. The Atlantic City area had less participation than one might have expected, and the Southern Shore saw almost no people taking advantage of online gambling privileges.

The average wager turned out to be $83, with one gambler placing a $16,880 bet. By most, a total of 23 days were spent gambling, though some gambled for a total of over 300 days.

2. The top 10%
It sounds like an exclusive club, and it may just qualify. This section outlines the top 10% of gamblers, meaning those who came in first in terms of total number of bets placed, number of days spent gambling and amount of money wagered. Women were a significant fixture in the top 10, outnumbering men 53% to 46%.

More than 69% of this group played casino games exclusively, and gambled for a mean of 158 days (almost half the year!). Some participants gambled every day of the year. In this group, the top wager was about $181. One daring soul bet $36,750 in one day.

These top players managed 440 bets per day on average, with a daily wager of about $4.

1. The one guy who went bonkers
We could have included this person in the previous section, but he went so above and beyond that he deserves his own spot. This player decided to go big, risking $78.76 million in one year. The average yearly wager of $499,220 seems like a small sum in comparison.

The report doesn't specify how much of that money was won and then recycled back into online gambling, so we can only assume that this person is really, really rich; a highly skilled poker player; or a world-class hacker with a lot of free time.