New Jersey DGE Attacks Illegal, Offshore Gambling Sites

The New Jersey Attorney General has issued direct warnings to several major online gambling affiliate sites via its Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). The letter, first published by another affiliate, states that “If websites are offering [unauthorized] gaming to residents of New Jersey, they are violating criminal provisions of the Act.” It further states that this violation may result in a fine of no more than $100,000.

The letter says that promoting offshore, unregulated gambling sites is “activity that is contrary to New Jersey and federal law.” What it fails to address is how this affects affiliate sites located outside of New Jersey and outside of the United States. Are such marketers expected to block their content from reaching citizens of New Jersey?

According to a statement from DGE spokeswoman Kerry Langan, “We believe this may either taint legitimate sites by associating them with the illegal ones, and conversely may lend the appearance that these illegal sites are affiliated with authorized sites.” Translation: “Revenues have been sorely disappointing, and we want to remove the competition of our local casinos.”

While it’s certainly logical to do everything in their power to eliminate the unregulated foreign competitors, regulators appear to have missed the bigger picture: they have made it too difficult for affiliates to promote the legal sites. That is why many choose to continue promoting illegal sites.

Our website, njgamblingwebsites.com, has been waiting over 2 months for our vendor license to be approved by the DGE! We are committed to promote only legal gambling sites, but we are paying a heavy price that other affiliates clearly aren’t willing to pay.

All of their red tape for affiliates coupled with NJ’s small market size makes it impossible for webmasters to do business exclusively with them. The offshore, unregulated sites typically serve most of the entire world, generating a global market infinitely more profitable than the small, teetering Jersey market.

As of this posting, none of the warned websites have removed the links to the “illegal”, unregulated gambling sites.