Introduction
New Jersey was the first state to bring a lawsuit against the federal government regarding states’ rights in the legalization of sports betting. After the Supreme Court decided that New Jersey, as well as the other 50 states, had the right to make their own decisions about sportsbooks, New Jersey quickly put sports gaming into place in the late summer.
Now that the NFL season is in full swing, people in New Jersey have 14 different locations they can choose from to gamble, including casinos and racetracks. In addition, sports teams in New Jersey are vying for possible sponsorships of teams by gaming entities. The NBA has already signed as a league with MGM Entertainment, and individual teams within the NFL are also looking for sponsorships in states where sports gaming is legal.
Gaming in New Jersey
New Jersey is set to surpass Nevada as a sports betting powerhouse by 2021, when the sportsbooks will take in an estimated $3.4 billion in wagers. In the last few months alone, online fantasy sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings are already primed to offer online wagers. New Jersey is the largest state population currently taking sportsbooks. The Garden State makes 9.75% on onsite betting, and 14.25% on online bets. Currently, New Jersey has very little competition from its closest rival, New York State. Experts think the current timeline for New York to have sportsbooks is sometime in 2021.
In the first two months after sports gaming became legal, people in New Jersey have bet over $55 million on sportsbooks. That number is expected to rise exponentially, with the projected over/under for September to be $500 million. The projected gambling revenue from sportsbooks in the next 10 years is expected to grow to $16 billion per year, as more states legalize sportsbooks.
The NFL and Sponsorships
The New York Jets have been a part of the National Football League since 1959, when they were the New York Titans. The team is headquartered in New Jersey and shares a stadium with the New York Giants in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Although the team is headquartered in one of the first states to legalize gambling, the New York Jets haven’t exactly had the best football record. This makes it all the more interesting they are looking for a possible gaming sponsor.
The first time the Jets went to the playoffs was fairly early in their franchise history in 1968, winning the Super Bowl in 1969 with Joe Namath as their quarterback. However, they have never been back to the Super Bowl, which makes their streak of non-Super Bowl appearances one of the longest among active NFL teams.
Even though the Jets have not been to the Super Bowl in 50 years, many gaming franchises are interested in a sponsorship of the NFL team. In fact, sponsorship could run as high as $750,000 to $1,000,000 a year for a team like the Jets.
It has only been in recent weeks that the NFL has decided to allow casino advertising in the stadiums. However, unlike the sponsorship of soccer teams in Europe, the NFL does not allow advertising on uniforms or team merchandise, at least not at the present time.
The New York Jets are not the only team that has entertained the thought of having sponsors. The Dallas Cowboys, who have five Super Bowl victories, has also agreed to a partnership with WinStar World Casino in Oklahoma, near the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Giants have not decided whether or not to also join the Jets in sponsorship.
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