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Your Guide To NJ Sports Betting As NFL And NBA Games Pick Up The Pace

For now, there are 8 retail sportsbooks and 8 online sports betting apps in New Jersey. But NJ sports betting is just getting started.

Welcome to the first NFL regular season upon which legal bets can be placed in New Jersey and elsewhere!

As of Oct. 5, there are eight retail sportsbooks and eight online sportsbooks available in New Jersey. How’s that for some options?

In this guide, you’ll have the complete rundown of where you can bet, which types of bets you can place, and which types of bets you can’t place.

Where can you bet on sports in New Jersey?

If you can believe it, it’s been almost three months since PASPA was repealed. That decision paved the way for legal NJ sports betting.

New Jersey casinos and racetracks were eager to launch land-based and online sportsbooks.

The following is a list of casinos and racetracks in the state and the types of sports betting they offer:

Resorts: In-person, online (DraftKings and BetStars)

Resorts Atlantic City has a land-based sportsbook they run in partnership with SBTech.

Earlier in the summer, Resorts teamed up with DraftKings and the result was the first-to-market NJ online sports betting site, DraftKings Sportsbook. Partnered with Kambi, DraftKings was the go-to online sportsbook for most of August.

Download DraftKings Sportsbook app here.

Resorts also provides a skin for BetStars. The sports betting product from poker giant PokerStars began accepting wagers Sept. 13. Among its offerings include promotions, in-game betting, and a cashout option. As of now, the iOS version of BetStars is available via the PokerStars iOS app. But a standalone Android app is available for download.

In the future, Resorts will most likely run its own online sportsbook.

Download BetStars Android app here.

Golden Nugget: In-person

Golden Nugget opened the doors to its temporary sportsbook this past month after moving the poker room to a different part of the property to make way for a sports betting space.

But as promised, The Sportsbook opened in its new and permanent space on Aug. 31 complete with nine self-service kiosks and lounge areas.

Golden Nugget sportsbook online site is an unknown at this point, but a likely possibility in the future.

Borgata: In-person, online (playMGM)

Borgata runs a temporary sportsbook out of its current horse racing betting area, which is allowable under current sports betting regulation. They do, however, have plans to build a stand-alone sportsbook in the future.

Its land-based sportsbook has 100 seats and 10 betting windows.

Borgata is owned by MGM Resorts, which means that a playMGM sports betting app was always a likely scenario. On Aug. 22, playMGM opened its online app in New Jersey.

There may be a couple more online sportsbooks in Borgata’s future, as its parent company has a partnership with international sportsbook operators GVC and Boyd Gaming.

Monmouth Park: In-person and online (William Hill, SugarHouse)

Monmouth Park partnered with William Hill to open the first land-based sportsbook on June 14.

Their partnership also extends to the online/mobile space, where William Hill NJ accepts sports wagers online and on its Android and iOS mobile apps.

At one point, SugarHouse Sportsbook was under Golden Nugget’s NJ online gambling license, but not anymore. As of Oct. 17, SugarHouse switched its online sports betting site to the Monmouth Park license.

The reason is simple: SugarHouse wanted to accept NBA bets and with Golden Nugget, that’s not possible. The online casino side of the integrated site is still under Golden Nugget’s license.

SugarHouse Sportsbook includes all your favorite betting options, mobile apps, and a shared wallet.

Place your bets at SugarHouse Sportsbook here.

Meadowlands: In-person and online (FanDuel)

Meadowlands Racetrack opened a FanDuel-branded sportsbook on July 14, quickly becoming a powerhouse in the NJ sports betting market. Sitting next to New York City, the retail sportsbook is reaping the benefits of its location.

And not to be outdone by its daily fantasy sports competitor (DraftKings), FanDuel Sportsbook launched its mobile sports betting app on Sept. 1 alongside William Hill’s app.

Get lucky at FanDuel Sportsbook app here.

Ocean Resort Casino: In-person

Hard Rock Atlantic City may have earned more revenue in the first couple of months, but Ocean Resort beat its rival to the punch by opening a retail sportsbook.

The William Hill Sports Book @ Ocean Resort claims to be the best in the business, with nearly 7,500 square feet of space. It sits in the center of the casino floor and features seating, a bar, TVs and plenty of betting windows. The grand opening of the new Ocean Resort sportsbook occurred on Sept. 6.

Ocean Resort is also partnered with William Hill US, a union which most likely will result in a self-branded online app at some point in the future. The timeline for that supposed launch, however, is unclear.

Caesars/Harrah’s/Bally’s: In-person and online (Caesars and 888 Sport)

Caesars opened land-based sportsbooks at Harrah’s and Bally’s. The Caesars AC property, however, has no retail book.

The entertainment group announced a partnership with Scientific Games and launched its online sportsbook hours before the start of the NFL regular season.

Caesars added its sportsbook to its existing Caesars NJ online casino app, which is available on browsers and mobile for iOS and Android.

Additionally, Caesars provides a skin for 888 Sport NJ. Bettors can place sports bets on the 888 Sport website or on the mobile app on Android. The company indicates an iOS app is due out soon.

Check out Caesars sportsbook app here.

Hard Rock: None, for now

One of Atlantic City’s newest casinos, Hard Rock AC has yet to open a land-based sportsbook. However, this all changed in October when Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) signed a letter of intent with Hard Rock in order to open a sportsbook in Atlantic City.

The target date is sometime before the end of the year, but Hard Rock AC has already petitioned the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement to give them a transactional waiver to speed up the process.

The property also has a partnership with bet365, a leading international sportsbook operator. There is also a deal in place with Kindred Group.

Tropicana: None, for now

Tropicana underwent a recent sale, the consequences of which have Penn National running the property and El Dorado Gaming running the gaming operations.

Recently, Tropicana AC signed a deal with William Hill to offer sports betting in Atlantic City. Now that the sale is final, a sportsbook could open on site sometime in October.

As such, alongside Hard Rock AC, the casino petitioned the DGE for transactional waivers to get things going at the property sooner rather than later. An online sportsbook can’t be too far behind.

The only other property in the state that could offer sports betting is Freehold Raceway, the oldest racetrack in the state. But its plans are also a mystery at this point.

Types of bets you can place in NJ sports betting

You’ll get the full-fledged betting experience at all the in-person locations throughout the state, with everything from spread to prop bets in play.

Shop around each online and mobile sports betting app to see which kinds of lines you can get, as they may not all be uniform. In-game betting is a popular addition to sportsbooks, and most if not all of the new apps in the state offer it.

Some books also have special events and promotions. SugarHouse sportsbook, for example, also features a Jackpot Parlay.

Other promos include MLB playoffs and NFL games hot picks from FanDuel Sportsbook. 888 Sport also has a monthlong celebration that includes daily rewards and free bets.

Also, with the NBA season now in play, remember that Golden Nugget’s relationship with the Houston Rockets will exclude them from offering bets on NBA games.

Types of bets you can’t place

There are no specific sports excluded from sports betting in New Jersey, although it’s not a guarantee that sportsbooks will offer those sports. Each sportsbook is different.

The only bets excluded from the state’s in-person and online/mobile sportsbooks are bets made on high school sports, as well as bets made on college teams in New Jersey, which includes Seton Hall, Rutgers, Monmouth, and more.

Hard Rock AC Finds Missing NJ Sports Betting Link In GiG Partnership

An NJ sports betting question is answered with Hard Rock AC teaming up with GiG to launch online and retail sportsbooks by the end of the year.

The wait is over.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City will be home to NJ sports betting thanks to a partnership with international developer Gaming Innovation Group (GiG).

The two companies announced this past week that they’d be teaming up for a sportsbook at Hard Rock Atlantic City by the end of the year.

In the press release, GiG said they signed an LOI, or “letter of intent,” to launch land-based and online/mobile sportsbooks for Hard Rock AC.

Here is the statement:

“Gaming Innovation Group Inc. (GiG) has signed a Letter of Intent with Hard Rock International (Hard Rock) for the provision of an omni-channel Sportsbook platform in the newly opened New Jersey, US market at its Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
The intention of the LOI is to execute an agreement and launch the Sportsbook in New Jersey in Q4 2018.”

More detail on the NJ sports betting partnership

The agreement shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise considering GiG is the brains behind Hard Rock online casino. The NJ gambling site launched in late June, shortly after Hard Rock AC opened its doors on the Boardwalk.

We reached out to GiG’s CCO, Ben Clemes, for more information about the letter of intent.

Clemens told us that because the contract wasn’t finalized, he couldn’t discuss the details of the partnership:

“At this point, I cannot elaborate much more than what was stated in the release we made on the Oslo exchange where we announced that we have entered into an LOI with Hard Rock International to deliver the retail and online sports solution to NJ,” Clemens said. “We expect the contract to be finalized in the near future with the retail solution being live in (Q4) of this year.”

Good news for Hard Rock Atlantic City

The announcement solved what many considered the biggest mystery of the NJ sports betting landscape: When will Hard Rock AC launch a land-based and online sportsbook?

Competing new casino Ocean Resort opened its William Hill sportsbook in June of this year. There are seven other in-person sportsbooks in operation in the state.

Only Tropicana, Hard Rock, and Caesars have yet to open an online or land-based sportsbook. But this doesn’t mean Trop isn’t thinking about or planning for it. A recent partnership with William Hill brings Trop closer to launch than ever before.

And recent petitions submitted by both Hard Rock and Tropicana to the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement move things forward further. The petitions ask for transactional waivers to commence sports betting at the two Atlantic City casinos.

This leaves Caesars on the outside looking in, but only somewhat. After all, Caesars has an online sportsbook of its own.

Deal marks third for Hard Rock AC

Per New Jersey’s gambling laws, a casino is allowed three “skins” for sports betting operators. This means that, with one license, each Atlantic City casino is allowed to create partnerships with three sports betting operators.

Over the past few months, Hard Rock AC filled up its quota through a trio of partnerships.

Hard Rock finalized its first partnership in July when it announced it had joined forces with bet365, an international sports betting giant based in the United Kingdom.

Then, this past August, Hard Rock teamed up with Kindred, a force in European online gambling. Kindred’s portfolio includes some of Europe’s biggest online gambling websites including Bohemia Casino, 32 Red, Vlad Cazino, and more. It also oversees Unibet, an online sports betting operation that will make its way into New Jersey soon.

Bottom line, Hard Rock AC has its ducks all lined up and ready to go. The question now is when exactly those ducks will launch.

Five Things To Know About NBA Sports Betting In New Jersey

With NBA sports betting now an option in New Jersey, here are some tips for placing bets at NJ sports betting online sites.

You could call it the perfect storm.

This month, the NHL, NFL, MLB, and NBA will all be in regular season or post-season operation, making for what will surely be an unprecedented month of NJ sports betting.

The quartet will be complete tonight when the NBA tips its regular season into gear.

In this primer on sports betting in New Jersey, we’ll cover some of the basics of placing a bet on NBA games, where and how you can bet, and all the possible bonus offers and partnerships that may spark your fancy.

Home-court advantage is legit

Home-sweet-home is a legitimate motto for sports bettors. For NFL and NBA games, it’s an important point to consider when placing a bet.

Five Thirty-Eight lists the following home winning percentages across the four leagues you can bet on:

NFL
- Regular season: 57.1 percent
- Postseason: 64.7 percent
NBA
- Regular season: 59.9 percent
- Postseason:64.5 percent
MLB
- Regular season: 54 percent
- Postseason: 54.2 percent
NHL
- Regular season: 55.1 percent
- Postseason: 55.3 percent

The NBA and NFL present the biggest home court advantage in the regular season and postseason, as well as the biggest jump in odds from the regular season to the postseason: 7.6 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the MLB’s home teams have a slight advantage in the regular season that only goes up 0.2 percent in the postseason.

While the NHL playoffs are quite a ways off, keep in mind that home-ice advantage goes up only 0.2 percent in the playoffs, too.

In-game betting in New Jersey

At the time of publishing, there are three main choices for in-game bets in New Jersey: DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, and SugarHouse Sportsbook.

This is good news for the fast-paced action of the NBA.

DraftKings

Draftkings operates an NJ mobile betting platform via Resorts Atlantic City’s license.

It offers all the traditional betting options including in-game or in-play. Also, you can cash out instantly at any point during the game to avoid last-second losses.

Unlike FanDuel, DraftKings does not have a land-based sportsbook in New Jersey. Neither, for that matter, does SugarHouse. This means to enjoy the in-play betting options during an NBA game, you must download DraftKings Sportsbook or log in on your browser.

DraftKings, by the way, is a popular choice in New Jersey. It generated a good portion of the $8.5 million in revenue posted by Resorts in September.

FanDuel

Whereas DraftKings is available online or through a mobile device, FanDuel offers both the online/mobile and the land-based option for in-game betting.

The sports betting and DFS heavyweight has a physical location at Meadowlands Racetrack, making it one of eight tracks/casinos in the state with a physical sportsbook.

FanDuel finished second in September’s NJ sports betting revenue race, logging around $7.2 million.

SugarHouse

SugarHouse launched its iOS and Android mobile sports betting apps and online platform via Golden Nugget, arguably the state’s flagship casino for online gambling.

Granted, SugarHouse does not have a land-based presence in New Jersey, but that doesn’t matter. The site is an integrated app with both an NJ online casino and an online sportsbook.

Of the NJ online sportsbooks that allow in-game bets, SugarHouse finished third with $619,030 in revenue.

Futures bets

Futures bets allow you to place a bet on who will win a future competition. For example, you can place a bet on who you think will win the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, the World Series, AND the NBA Finals.

Futures bets are allowed online and in-person with all eight NJ sports betting operators. But it’s best to shop around for the deals that work for you.

A futures bet at DraftKings may not be the same odds as a futures bet at FanDuel.

NBA + Golden Nugget = no bets

If you were hankering to visit Golden Nugget sportsbook and place a bet on the Los Angeles Lakers or the Philadelphia 76ers, you’re out of luck. Golden Nugget cannot accept any bets on NBA games.

The casino’s owner, Tilman Fertitta, is the owner of the Houston Rockets. The dual relationship presents a conflict of interest, barring the casino from offering NBA bets.

Look for partnerships, promos and deals

As we head into the NHL and NBA regular seasons, keep an eye out for partnerships between sports betting operators and the two leagues.

For example, MGM Resorts International announced a partnership with the NBA and WNBA. In the wake of the announcement, MGM ran a free-play promo in which bettors could pick the over-under win totals for every NBA team. That contest ended just before tonight’s opening game, however.

Don’t think there’s a sportsbook promo right for you? Think again. BetStars NJ and FanDuel Sportsbook are churning out sports betting promos right and left.

The most recent NBA promo from BetStars is an ongoing one for fans of LeBron James. Place a moneyline bet on the Lakers, and if LeBron puts up 35+ points in a game, but the Lakers still lose, BetStars will gift you with $20 in free bets.

Future partnerships and promos are likely to continue as operators, leagues, and casinos get into the NJ sports betting spirit.

AGA: Like The NFL, NHL Will See A Big Jump In Revenue From Sports Betting

According to the American Gaming Association, a Nielsen survey indicates that legal sports betting will increase the NHL’s revenue by $216 million a year.

First, it was a team in Las Vegas. Now its more than $200 million in sports revenue.

If the projections from a Nielsen sports study are accurate, the American Gaming Association announced this past week that the NHL could see a $216 million annual boost in revenue by virtue of legalized sports betting.

Sara Slane, the AGA’s senior vice president of public affairs, called sports betting’s impact on the NHL “significant.”

“Today’s announcement reaffirms that legal, regulated sports betting will create significant new revenue opportunities for sports leagues,” Slane said. “Much like the NHL’s recent successful expansion into Las Vegas, legal sports betting will continue to expand across the country, bringing with it a $216 million opportunity for the league.”

Where the NHL sports betting revenue will come from

Of the $216 million Nielsen says the NHL could earn every year from legalized sports betting, $151 million of that will come from increased fan engagement as well as another $65 million in revenue from gambling services.

According to a summary document from Nielsen, the consumption numbers (“fan engagement”) will result from revenue jumps in media rights, sponsorship, merchandise sales, and ticket sales.

Nielsen detailed the projected increases in each of those areas:

Media rights: 4.3 percent, or $67 million
Sponsorship: 2.0 percent, or $10 million
Merchandise: 0.7 percent, or $1 million
Ticket sales: 3.6 percent, or $72 million

Perhaps what is most significant in these numbers is that the projected increases in ticket sales and media rights are higher than what the league expects through gambling services.

Also of note is that an increase in ticket sales will be, according to the projections, the single most profitable revenue category in the post-PASPA world.

Those who gamble on games will, Nielsen predicts, be more inclined to buy tickets to those games.

Trio of factors with sports betting

Nielsen said the money the NHL is projected to earn from gambling services is split into three categories:

TV advertising revenue: $24 million
Sponsorship revenue: $35 million
Data and product revenue: $6 million

These various categories, Nielsen said, are fees that gambling services will pay directly to the league. Obviously, NJ sports betting and online gambling would be a part of these streams.

And likely a huge part as the NJ sports betting has skyrocketed since the start of football season. DraftKings Sportsbook led the charge back in August.

Nielsen study included both bettors and non-bettors

The AGA’s summary of the Nielsen study detailed Nielsen’s methodology. In short, the company surveyed 1,000 sports fans. However, not all of those sports fans were NHL fans.

They used those 1,000 surveys to “model how a national, legal sports betting market would affect the sports consumption habits of non-bettors, casual bettors and avid bettors, and how this change in consumption would translate to increased revenue.”

So, while Nielsen extrapolated revenue pertaining to the NHL, it was by no means an NHL-specific study. In fact, Nielsen used the same numbers to project the revenue effect legalized sports betting would have on NFL revenue — $2.3 billion, to be exact.

Atlantic Club To Remain Empty In AC As Stockton Deal Collapses

The pending deal between TJM and Stockton University for the Atlantic Club property dissolved after two months of negotiations fell through.

The Stockton University empire won’t be getting bigger.

This past week, both TJM Properties, which owns the Atlantic Club, and Stockton officials announced that the pending deal fell through.

In an interview with the Press of Atlantic City, TJM seems to put the blame on Stockton for passing on a sweetheart deal.

“Our organization feels that Stockton University will bring great economic development to Atlantic City, therefore [we] offered them a deal unlike any other, which unfortunately did not and will not happen moving forward,” TJM President Terence McCarthy said.

The university planned to knock down the casino and hotel and, according to reports, utilize the property’s parking garage.

Stockton deal third to fall through in past two years

The Atlantic Club property is, judging by the amount of interest in it, a desirable asset.

Over the past couple of years, three deals — Stockton included — failed to make it through the negotiation process.

Before the Stockton deal, R&R Development from Ventnor City wanted to build a water park on the property. The attraction would have been named Dolphin Village and would’ve boasted the following stats:

100,000-square-foot property
300-room hotel
Dining and entertainment venues
Rides
Wading pools

The attraction was deemed a haven for high rollers’ kids, but the deal went bust and Atlantic City never got its water park.

A third deal fell through in 2016 when another development group wanted to create a multi-purpose facility in which there would be a water park, shopping, and other attractions.

According to reports, the development group, Endeavor Property Group, couldn’t put together the funding it needed to finalize the deal.

Reason for third breakdown unknown

The property seems to have bad luck, as funding has fallen through twice. Interestingly, there has yet to be a solid theory as to why the Stockton deal fell through.

As mentioned earlier, quotes from TJM seems to indicate the fault is on Stockton. The university, in the meantime, offered cordial quotes about the back out.

“We appreciate all the time and hard work that has gone into this effort, and are particularly grateful to TJM properties,” Stockton Universty President Harvey Kesselman said. “Rest assured, we remain committed to Atlantic City and expanding our presence there. This is our future, and we will continue to try to make the best investments we can there.”

Stockton in Atlantic City

Stockton University’s presence in Atlantic City is grounded in its Gateway campus, a one-block property between Ventnor and Atlantic and across the street from O’Donnell Memorial Park.

The university’s website brands the Gateway campus as “beachfront living and learning” where students can “live, learn and enjoy the best of Atlantic City.”

In 2017, there was talk of Stockton acquiring the Revel Casino property for its Atlantic City campus but the deal never materialized. Ocean Resort Casino stands in its place now.

With the deal for the old Atlantic Club out the door, Stockton is likely back to square one with its plans to expand in AC.

Thumbs Up: Rating Agency Moody’s Likes The Direction Atlantic City Is Headed

Moody’s gave Atlantic City’s future two thumbs up in the wake of the state’s report. The state takeover and its proposals are a positive for the city.

Are AAA’s in the future for Atlantic City?

While rating agency Moody’s may not bestow the highest score for Atlantic City’s financial standing, the company says recent news that the state will continue overseeing the city’s finances is a positive sign for AC’s credit rating.

Good news and bad news for Atlantic City

Moody’s ratings are a way for investors to quickly understand the stability, of, in this case, a city’s financial profile.

What Moody said this past week about the city’s financial health was a statement, but not an official rating. The last time Moody’s rated Atlantic City was March 28 of this year.

At that time, they gave the city a Caa3 rating with a positive outlook, which means that they foresee the city’s financial stability getting stronger.

However, for the time being, the credit rating isn’t a good one.

According to the Moody’s website, a “Caa3 underlying rating reflects the city’s continued, albeit reduced, financial and economic distress. The affirmation also incorporates the positive impact of the takeover by the state.”

While the agency’s positive outlook is encouraging — a sign that whatever the state is doing is working — Atlantic City still has its share of financial hurdles it needs to overcome in order to get a better rating from Moody’s.

The report noted the following steps could be taken to improve the city’s finances:

Improved liquidity and reserve position
Further reductions in expenditures
Diversification of the economic base
Material improvement in tax base and resident wealth and income

City’s financial problems go back years

In 2016, Atlantic City was in a crisis. It was two years removed from the infamous casino contraction of 2014, in which five NJ casinos closed.

Then-Mayor Dick Guardian and his city councilmembers were struggling to come up with solutions for the city’s financial frailty. Then-Gov. Chris Christie gave Guardian and his colleagues an ultimatum: Fix your budget or submit to a state takeover of your books.

Guardian submitted a budget for 2016-2017, as well as a five-year plan to eliminate the city’s debts. However, Christie wasn’t satisfied and didn’t consider the budget a plausible one.

In November 2016, he announced that the state would send in a team to take over Atlantic City’s finances. Within six months, the state-led team came up with a plan to balance the budget that included cutbacks and lay-offs.

The state’s first major victory came when it was able to settle an outstanding $165 million property-tax refund with Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa for $72 million.

Atlantic City state report and the future

This past month, Gov. Phil Murphy’s special counsel in charge of the state takeover of Atlantic City, Jim Johnson, recommended that the oversight continue through 2021.

The extension of oversight was the result of a 64-page report titled “Atlantic City: Building a Foundation for a Shared Prosperity.”

In the report, Johnson said that the city needed to continue to build its infrastructure and strengthen its relationships with various state agencies if it wants to have long-term success.

“The citizens of Atlantic City deserve to have their local elected officials control their destiny,” said Mayor Frank Gilliam. “I am very optimistic that this is a huge step in the right direction for Atlantic City and its future.”

Moody’s, apparently, is similarly optimistic.