New Jersey Plays the Role of U.S. Gambling Industry Leader

When the U.S. Supreme Court released the ban on U.S. sports betting back in May of 2018, it was very clear that the state of New Jersey had designs on becoming a major player in the U.S. gambling industry. The state did not disappoint. It was one of the first three states to approve sports betting and online gambling legislation alongside Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Here we are three years later and New Jersey is still playing the role of a leader and innovator when it comes to opening doors for other forms of gambling.

By the way, New Jersey leads by example. As the numbers continue to get bigger every month of every year, the state has finally overtaken stalwart Nevada as the largest sports gambling state in America in terms of sports betting handle. Nevada is still holding at number two, but that's states numbers pale in comparison to what NJ is taking in each month.

In all fairness to Nevada, a lot of the sports betting action in New Jersey is going through mobile betting apps. Furthermore, that includes a very large group of people from New York who don't yet have access to mobile sports betting in their own state. Since NY Governor Andrew Cuomo has made clear he will approve online sports betting legislation, it will be interesting to see what effect that has on New Jersey's numbers when the NY betting apps open for business.

Just the same, New Jersey intends to keep moving forward and innovating.

New Jersey to Put In-state College Team Wagering on Ballot

Since NJ was one of the first states to approve sports betting, they decided to be cautious about allowing residents to wager on in-state college teams. While always mindful of what is happening in the sports betting community, state legislators can now see there is very little downside to allowing in-state college team wagers.

It's not a new innovation but as an industry leader, other states that don't permit wagering on in-state college teams will likely follow New Jersey's lead. States like Illinois will be watching developments in this area very closely.

New Jersey is Looking at Fixed-odds horse wagering

Over the last few years, the horse racing industry in New Jersey has been looking for ways to revitalize the industry. Several of the state's race tracks have been struggling and are looking to turns things around.

As innovators, the state is looking into the possibility of using a Fixed-odds horse wagering format. It would be very similar to what is currently working very well in Australia.

Leading the charge here is the BetMakers Technology Group, a group that recently signed a 10-year deal with the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. Under the terms of the deal, BetMakers would provide a Fixed-odds horse wagering platform to be used by the ownership of Monmouth Park, the state's leading race track. How soon?

According to Joe Bertolone, of the UNLV International Center for Gaming Regulation: “I think you’ll see the first fixed-odds bet placed in New Jersey at the Haskell [Invitational Stakes on July 17]."