PlayNJ has a simple focus: to be a trustworthy source of information, news and resources for readers interested in land-based and online casino gaming, online sports betting and online poker in New Jersey.
Our goals
- Educate consumers on the benefits of playing at legal, regulated online gambling sites including responsible gambling resources at their disposal.
- Provide useful information on timely online betting offers and promotions, and honest reviews of legal online casinos and sports betting apps.
- Be a reliable source of news and information on the legal NJ gambling industry including Atlantic City casinos.
We are an independently owned and operated commercial organization with no ownership stake in any New Jersey casino or gambling company.
Contact Us
Catena Media US, Inc.: 8565 S. Eastern Avenue, Ste 150, Las Vegas, NV 89123Meet the PlayNJ team
Our team of writers and analysts bring a wealth of knowledge on legal gambling in NJ, and many of them have been covering the industry since its launch in 2013. You’ll find quotes from our staff at a number of media outlets both national and regional, as they are called upon for expert analysis on an industry that is constantly evolving and growing. Meet the team:
Managing Editor: Grant Lucas
Grant Lucas is a longtime sports writer who has covered the high school, collegiate and professional levels. A graduate of Linfield College in McMinnville, Grant has covered games and written features and columns surrounding prep sports, Linfield and Oregon State athletics, the Portland Trail Blazers and golf throughout his career.
Lead Writer: Corey Sharp
Corey Sharp serves as the lead writer for PlayNJ after joining Catena Media in 2022. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he previously worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer and NBC Sports Philadelphia as a sports writer and content producer. As lead writer for PlayNJ, Corey heads up a talented team of expert journalists and analysts to bring you the most comprehensive coverage of gambling news in New Jersey.
Contributor: Dan Holmes
Dan Holmes is a contributing writer for PlayNJ. He has written three boooks about sports and previously worked for the National Baseball Hall of Fame as well as Major League Baseball. An avid writer, runner and enjoyer of lemon bars, Dan lives near Lake Michigan with his daughters and, oftentimes, a nearby orange cream soda.
Contributor: Cole Rush
Cole Rush writes words. A lot of them. Most of those words can be found in gambling publications such as PlayNJ, PlayIllinois, Gaming Today, and Bonus.com. Cole also covers pop culture and books for Tor.com and TheQuillToLive.com. Cole has more than eight years of experience writing about gambling and entertainment.
Contributor: Stephanie Loder
Stephanie Loder is a freelance writer for PlayNJ. She provides coverage of New Jersey’s Atlantic City casinos while also focusing on the beach, boardwalk, and special gaming events. Prior to writing for PlayNJ, she covered Atlantic City government, breaking news, and casinos for The Press of Atlantic City in Pleasantville, N.J.
Contributor: Anthony Cicali
Anthony “Eatahoagie“ Cicali is a freelance writer from Riverside, NJ. He has his undergrad from Stockton University. He’s also a Twitch casino streamer and a professional East Coast poker player. Currently covers poker and casino-related topics for PlayNJ, PlayTexas, PlayNY, PlayPennsylvania and more. Favorite sports teams include the Phillies, Flyers and the Gravina Football Club. You can follow his gambling adventures on Twitter @Eatahoagie.
Contributor: Dave Bontempo
Dave Bontempo, a multiple national award-winning boxing commentator and writer, authors NFL betting columns for the Press of Atlantic City and iGaming Player, among others. He covers New Jersey sports betting, horse betting and the legal gambling industry across the US.
Former news content manager: Matthew Bain
Matthew Bain is currently the Content Manager at Catena Media’s national online lottery site, PlayiLottery. He used to be the News Content Manager at Catena Media, overseeing news content for the network’s highest-priority regional sites. With New Jersey being the original US online gambling market, PlayNJ was one of his main focuses.
Past Contributor: Bill Gelman
Bill Gelman has been reporting on the NJ gambling market since 2018, right around when the Garden State launched sports betting. Bill transitioned from lead writer for PlayNJ and NJ Gambling Sites to eventually managing editor in 2020.
Bill received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ithaca College. He has contributed to other Catena Media sites including The Lines, Legal Sports Report, PlayPennsylvania and PlayCanada.
Past Contributor: David Danzis
David Danzis is an award-winning journalist who has covered business, politics, government, education, and sports in New Jersey. Most recently, he wrote about Atlantic City casinos, online gaming, and sports betting for The Press of Atlantic City. David is a graduate of Rutgers University.
Past Contributor: Dustin Gouker
Dustin Gouker is a legal sports betting and gambling analyst who has covered, analyzed and provided his expertise on legal online sports betting, casino, poker and daily fantasy sports since 2015. Prior to entering the world of legal gambling, Dustin worked as a sports journalist for over 15 years, contributing to newspapers ranging from Oregon-based publications to The Washington Post. Considered one of the leading analysts for legal sports betting and gambling, Dustin received a degree from George Washington University.
Past Contributor: Eric Ramsey
Eric is a reporter and writer covering the NJ gambling industry, online poker, sports betting regulation, and DFS. He comes from a poker background, formerly on staff at PokerNews and the World Poker Tour.
What does PlayNJ cover?
Readers will find a wide variety of news and review content on PlayNJ.com. The bulk of the coverage centers around sports betting, online casino, and poker along with Atlantic City gaming news. Here is a small sampling of what types of content you’ll find at PlayNJ.
Atlantic City
- Restaurant openings and casino updates
- Gaming executive profiles
- Best places to gamble, eat, drink, stay and play, watch the Super Bowl and more
Sports betting
- New sportsbook app launches
- NJ sports betting reviews and promos
- Monthly revenue analysis
Online casino & poker
- NJ online casino reviews, promos, launch news and updates
- Recap and analysis of the monthly DGE reports
- Newest games available to NJ online casino players
- Previews of upcoming NJ online poker tournaments
No matter what the article is about, every article follows the same strict review process guidelines of providing useful and accurate information in an easy-to-understand format. Our goal is to provide as much honest information as possible to help readers get a better understanding of the industry or decide what apps or promos are best for them.
Editorial policies
All content at PlayNJ undergoes a thorough review process before going live on the site. All articles are reviewed by a team of editors at Catena Media for grammar and word choice before Managing Editor Grant Lucas conducts a final review for accuracy and tone. Grant is a seasoned journalist who has been covering the legal gambling industry in NJ since 2018. For more on our editorial policies, click here.
Advertising disclosure
Our funding comes via advertising relationships with NJ’s regulated online operators. In some cases, when you visit a regulated online casino or poker site via the links available on PlayNJ.com, we may receive financial compensation from the betting site. We may also sell advertising space to various partners but only do so in a transparent manner.
Our policy regarding advertisers is simple:
- Advertisers do not dictate the content on PlayNJ.com (we maintain editorial independence).
- Advertisers cannot “buy” a better review on PlayNJ.com. Our reviewers are completely independent of our ad sales team.
- Our goal, first and foremost, is to provide credible, objective information about the regulated online betting options in New Jersey. We believe that this goal naturally produces the best situation for casino and sportsbook consumers and operators, and therefore for us as a business.
- Any paid advertisements on PlayNJ will be clearly marked as such or appear in a format (such as banner ads) that are widely understood to be advertisements.
Contact us
PlayNJ writers and analysts are available to share insights on the intersections of gambling regulation, sports betting, online casinos and retail casinos in New Jersey. For media inquiries, please reach out to [email protected]. You can also visit our media inquiries page for more information.
Join our team
Catena Media and PlayNJ in particular are always looking to add talent to our expanding team of experts covering land-based and online gambling from NJ to Nevada to Canada and everything in between. For information on open positions and how to apply, visit our careers page.