Home / Poker News January 2014 / Richard Branson Jumps on New Jersey Online Gambling Bandwagon
Richard Branson Jumps on New Jersey Online Gambling Bandwagon
Posted by: James Carter. - Wed, 2014-01-22 06:24
Billionaire Richard Branson and his Virgin Group represent the latest variable added to New Jersey’s regulated online gambling/
online poker market. Despite the underwhelming revenue numbers published by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement in regards to the state’s online gambling/poker market, it’s obvious that the billionaire sees potential in it. The founder of the Virgin Group is looking to launch his online operation this week, after he secured some pretty capable partners in Gamesys and the Tropicana Atlantic City Casino and Resort. Obviously, Gamesys will be responsible for the actual platform, while the Tropicana will act as the necessary land-based component of the operation.
Branson’s operation will be set up at Virgincasino.com, one of the 15 sites approved for offering real money online gambling right after it became clear that the state would indeed legalize the activity. Branson and his operation will have some serious catching-up to do, as a slew of other companies have already set up shop in the Garden State and a few of them have even begun pushing some pretty hard-to-match promotions-based marketing that has already landed them ahead of the pack.
Friday will be the exact date when Branson’s operation goes live. For starters, the site will offer slots, baccarat, blackjack, roulette, as well as video poker, its offer totaling some 30 games.
According to Gamesys’ chief operating officer, Lee Fenton, his company has been preparing for this move for quite some time, racking up some valuable experience with real money players in the UK, who wagered some $4.3 million on their games in 2012 alone.
Topicana president Tony Rodio wasn’t discouraged by the poor revenue numbers posted by the industry last year. He pointed it out that the industry was still in its infancy and that a lot of the online gaming content wasn’t even online yet.
Sign up to PartyPoker, the dominant operator of New Jersey’s regulated online poker market.
