Until they were banned in 1844, lotteries were common in New Jersey. Gambling has a long legacy in New Jersey, with the state historically being more permissive of gambling than most other states. History Early era Early New Jersey lottery ticket, used to help finance the construction of Queen's College (now Rutgers University) in New Brunswick. Five years later, the state won a lawsuit that dismantled Nevada's monopoly on legal sports betting. In 2013, the state began to allow in-state online gambling. New Jersey's gambling laws are among the least restrictive in the United States. Gambling in New Jersey includes casino gambling in Atlantic City, the New Jersey Lottery, horse racing, off-track betting, charity gambling, amusement games, and social gambling. The Uptown section of Atlantic City, showing Showboat Atlantic City and The Taj Mahal casino, the latter of which closed in 2016 and reopened in 2018 as the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City in 2018.
