Rush Street Becomes First to Offer U.S. Virtual Sports Betting

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Bettors in the United States will soon have the ability to wager on virtual sporting events. It was announced on November 27, 2017 that Rush Street Interactive has been approved by New Jersey lawmakers to offer betting on virtual sports. The move expands Internet gambling in a state which already permits online casinos.

Virtual football is the first event that bettors can wager on. Access to the betting platform is through PlaySugarHouse.com and is accessible on both computers and mobile devices. Wagering on live sports is currently restricted to residents of Nevada, but some feel that licensing virtual sports betting is a step toward live sports betting in New Jersey.

There are plans to expand the virtual sporting events to include greyhound and horse racing in addition to car racing. The success of the platform could have a bearing on New Jersey's efforts to legalize live sports betting online and expand that legality to other states. The matter is currently before the Supreme Court and many professional sports groups are lobbying for legalization.

One of the benefits of allowing wagering on virtual sports events is that the operators can gauge interest in live sports betting. In theory, an operator could use the virtual platform to build a list of interested bettors. Those bettors could then be marketed to when live sports betting is legalized.

Nevada has allowed betting on virtual sports in its live sports books for many years, but this is the first time that online betting has been permitted. Those who support the legislation claim that virtual events are useful in filling up time periods when no live sports are available for betting.