Published on December 3, 2013 by Tom Jones

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has championed the cause to bring regulated Internet gambling to his state. Now that online gambling is a reality in New Jersey, Christie stayed strong this week regarding his expectations from the industry.

Online casinos went live late last week in New Jersey, and the early returns haven't been what was expected. The slow start, however, has not deterred Christie's prognostication for revenue. Christie still believes online gambling revenue will top $1 billion by next summer.

In the week since online gambling went live, the state reported over 37,000 accounts which were created. The numbers, consistent with some experts, would possibly not accurately represent what number of people signed up on the online casinos.

"There were over a handful of casinos that went live last week, and gamblers are inclined to arrange accounts at several different gambling locations," said analyst Travis Harken. "So while there have been almost 40,00 accounts created, there's a good chance that a significant portion of these accounts might be multiple accounts by individual gamblers at different online sites."

While the state monitors the primary week of action, online casinos have pop out strong of their effort to lure gamblers. Betfair, and several online sites that experience opened, have started ad campaigns on television stations aimed toward bringing gamblers in.

During Monday Night Football on ESPN, Betfair ran ads touting the legality of online gambling in New Jersey, and inspiring gamblers to enroll in accounts. Betfair offered free play in exchange for initial deposits from gamblers. The ads in New Jersey have followed similar ads which are being run in Nevada.

"It's eye-opening," said Harken. "Gamblers within the US have never seen this kind of advertising pressure for online gambling, and it isn't yet known how they are going to react. Just like ads for other products equivalent to liquor and automobiles, ads for online gambling during sports is viewed as an efficient tool for marketers."

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