The largest online poker company in the world has launched its mobile sports betting application this week in New Jersey.
The Stars Group decided to do this despite the field being increasingly crowded. However, with the site’s stellar reputation, it hopes to make a lot of money in the Garden State.
Gambling in New Jersey
Gambling in New Jersey has been around since the 18th century. Proceeds from gaming paid for the opening of two major universities: Rutgers and Princeton. In addition, gambling revenue helped pay off debts from the French and Indian War. Horse racing has also been in New Jersey for a long time. The Freehold Raceway has existed since the 1830s. Gambling has been prohibited from time to time. But, for the most part, it has been legal in New Jersey as long as it has been a state.
The state has had a legal lottery for more than 40 years, as well as casino gambling in Atlantic City. This makes it the second largest and second oldest casino gaming market. The state currently has nine casinos and four race tracks in operation.
New Jersey sued the federal government after its voters approved a referendum to allow sports gaming in the state. The government said it violated the law. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in May that states could decide for themselves whether to allow gambling. Sports betting is now legal at all sports tracks and casinos in New Jersey.
Online Gaming in the State
New Jersey also wanted to legalize online gaming and mobile gaming. State legislators felt that online gaming would increase the revenue of the state. New Jersey needed money badly at the time because of the Great Recession. After the Justice Department rejected the state’s legal challenges, New Jersey began to allow online gaming anywhere in the state. New Jersey did leave the door open for multistate gaming in the future.
The Stars Group
The Stars Group, which has its headquarters in Toronto, had more than $1.3 billion in revenue last year. The Stars Group owns several different brands, such as PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, SkyBet, and BetStars. The company offers online gaming and sports gaming as well as mobile gaming and mobile sportsbooks.
The company has said it expects its BetStars application to do very well, given the name recognition of the brand. BetStars has also received praise for its sportsbook. While BetStars has holdings throughout Europe, New Jersey will represent its first sportsbook in the United States. The group wants to launch its app, 888Sport. Presently, the company’s affiliation with Caesars Entertainment will allow it to test its mobile sports product in New Jersey. In addition, William Hill, a British company, also has a sportsbook at a casino in Atlantic City.
New Jersey’s sports market continues to grow strong. Since sports gaming began in June at two Atlantic City casinos, wagers have topped $152 million on sporting events. And, that was before the football season kicked in. Experts expect the football season to be particularly lucrative. The games of the NCAA and the NFL are the most popular ones watched in the United States.
While people bet $95 million on football in August, very little of that money was on football. The sport didn’t seem to draw much interest on advanced bets. However, that will change in September. If August’s figure of $95 million doubled the July figure, the numbers in September could double it again. It is unknown whether New Jersey’s sportsbooks can continue their exponential growth in the months to come.
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