There was a time when our culture treated the internet a bit like the “Wild West,” a vast, ungovernable place consisting of technology we barely understood.
Nearly 30 years later, however, the wrinkles have been ironed out. We’ve grown wise to scams and put measures in place so we’re comfortable making digital orders with our credit cards. We even use our real names to connect with family and build our careers.
However, it takes a little longer for public opinion to come around, and that’s why myths about the “lawless” internet continue to linger. When it comes to iGaming, one of the most pervasive of these is that online gaming isn’t as securely monitored as gaming at brick and mortar casinos.
Fortunately, the evidence speaks to the exact opposite. This June, Nathan Associates Inc. and Victor-Strategies created a whitepaper on behalf of the iDevelopment & Economics Association (iDEA) to investigate the impact of legal online gaming in New Jersey. You can read it in full on our website. According to these peer-reviewed findings, no minors have succeeded in creating online gambling accounts in New Jersey to date. That means online gaming not only discourages underage gambling, but makes it less likely than it has ever been offline!
How has New Jersey been able to keep minors away with a 100% success rate? Chalk it up to New Jersey’s Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures being the most rigorous instituted by any iGaming regulator. Our findings suggest that strict KYC registration may be more effective than even land-based casinos’ ID verification methods.
Of course, there is always room for improvement. As technology advances, New Jersey is constantly adjusting and monitoring the effectiveness of its KYC measures. But so far it’s clear that, when it comes to legal online gambling, the “anything goes” days of the internet are over.
While nobody knows the exact figure that Americans spend annually on online sports betting, $150 billion is a good one to put your money on.
State Rep. Brandt Iden, R-Kalamazoo, 
Online gaming still isn’t legal in Pennsylvania, but for the past five years, representatives have been working to change that.
