First off, let me wish a very Happy (and lucky) New Year to all our iGaming players! I hope you adopted at least one of the 18 resolutions I gave you in my last column.

2018 promises to be an exciting year in online gambling. The possibility of new games, old laws being repealed and jackpot-boosting partnerships are all the more reason to dip your toes in the virtual water, if you haven’t already. To whet your appetite, here are three reasons—besides the pesky New Year cold snap—to get excited about playing in the comfort of you own home in 2018:

1. Possible legalized sports betting in New Jersey

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard the case to allow sports betting in New Jersey in December 2017. But, we’ll have to wait a while for an answer that could come as late as June 2018.

The crux of the case is whether or not to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which bans sports betting nationwide sans a handful of states that have sports lotteries and Nevada.

If the justices side with New Jersey, calling a shady bookie with your password or betting at an offshore online casino may become a thing of the past. If victorious, New Jersey lawmakers would repeal PASPA immediately, and one would assume other states would follow suit. This is exciting news for armchair quarterbacks in the Garden State. 

2. New skill-based video games 

While new slot machines are released every year, gaming manufacturers are also trying to woo millennials with real-money, skill-based video games. Expected to hit the floor of brick-and-mortar casinos in 2018 is Pac-Man Battle Casino. This game pits players against one another for cash prizes.

If successful, an online version likely won’t be too far behind. This is great news for customers who want to leverage their hours of video gaming accumulated over the years to an advantage at the online casino, or for players who don’t like online table games, but also don’t care for the randomness of the slot machines their grandmother plays.

3. Poker across state lines 

New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada have joined a compact to allow online poker enthusiasts to play against opponents in all three states. The deal will result in bigger tournament pools, larger fields of players and increased traffic on sites.

Just the time change alone from the East Coast to the West Coast will provide more round-the-clock competition for you night owls and early risers out there. If you feel you have fleeced all the sheep that have fallen into your local, virtual shark tank, this news should get you super excited.

This is also big news for you bad-beat jackpot chasers. Atlantic City poker nuts will remember the feeding frenzy when then Harrah’s Entertainment decided to pool the jackpot from all four casinos: Bally’s, Caesars, Harrah’s and Showboat. Well, now you have three states pitching in, and the sky is the limit.