New Jersey Receives 5 More In-Person and Mobile Betting Applications
The New Jersey sports betting market is about to become a whole lot more competitive. Yesterday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) confirmed it has received two more applications for in-person wagering and three more applications for mobile sports betting.
Prospective operators received notice recently that applications should be submitted by Monday evening if they want to ensure they’re approved in time for the start of the 2018/19 NFL season. That was enough to spur operators to submit five more sports betting applications yesterday.
NJDGE Director David Rebuck told the Associated Press that operators who failed to submit their applications by the deadline will not necessarily be out of luck throughout the entirety of the NFL season, but that getting those applications in by yesterday evening would be best to ensure they’re ready to go at the start of the season.
The NJDGE would not reveal which New Jersey casinos submitted applications yesterday, but CBS Local reported that Caesars Entertainment and the Golden Nugget each confirmed they submitted applications.
Caesars Entertainment told CBS Local it applied for in-person licenses at Harrah’s Casino and Bally’s Casino, which will also provide betting for Caesars Casino patrons. Caesars Entertainment also stated it submitted mobile sports betting applications for three of its Atlantic City casinos.
Currently, Caesars Entertainment operates three online gambling sites in NJ: Caesars Online, Harrah’s Online and 888 Online. Those are in addition to 888 Poker and WSOP.com that are also active in the NJ online poker market.
Golden Nugget confirmed to CBS Local that it has applied for in-person and mobile wagering as well. The Golden Nugget holds licenses for three NJ gambling sites: Golden Nugget Online, Stardust Casino and Sugarhouse Online.
New Jersey Sports Betting Market Growing
If all five applications submitted yesterday are approved, it will more than double the size of the sports betting market in New Jersey. So far, four venues have been approved to offer sports betting and are now open for business.
Those are:
- Monmouth Park: Accepted New Jersey’s first ever legal sports wager on June 14th
- Borgata AC: Also opened its sportsbook on June 14th
- Ocean Resort: Began taking wagers on June 28th
- Meadowlands Racetrack: Began taking wagers on July 14th
With five more applications pending plus online betting set to go live any day now, the New Jersey market is poised to enter a high growth phase both before the NFL season and during. For reference, legal NJ sportsbooks handled $16.4 million in wagers in June despite there only being three sportsbooks in operation for just a part of the month and despite June typically being a slow period in sports betting.
Increased competition should also benefit bettors as the various sportsbooks and betting sites out there strive to outwork one another in their hunt for new customers. New Jersey online casino sites already compete with another for new business with various welcome bonuses, player retention rewards and ever-expanding game libraries.
Mike Murphy is the founder of BettingUSA.com and has over 10 years of experience in the legal gambling industry. A regular attendee of industry trade shows and conferences, Mike is a strong proponent in the idea of a well regulated online betting industry.
