New Jersey has had a long association with gambling, in the form of Atlantic City, which in the mid-1970s became the nation’s second most notable gambling hub after Las Vegas.
The Garden State, then governed by Chris Christie, was also at the forefront of the pivotal legal case to lift the nationwide ban on sports betting, In the summer of 2017, the Supreme Court took up the case of Christie versus the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The following May the 1992 PASPA Act was struck down, clearing the way for all US states to legalize sports betting.
New Jersey was one of the first states to get their legal sports betting sector up and running and since then, has led the way in sports betting revenue and turnover.Going into 2024, it is clear that more people than ever before are bet with Astropay betting sites.
State of play in the Garden State
The sports betting sector in New Jersey is one of the most sophisticated in the US, with a host of affiliate and betting advice sites helping bettors to navigate the huge choice of available betting markets and to choose from the latest sports betting bonuses from sportsbook operators, such as DraftKings.
Of course, 2023 was a peak year for sports betting operators across the US. The national sports betting sector recorded revenue of $10.92bn, representing a 44% increase over the previous record which was established the year before, with a betting handle of up to $119.84bn.
New York led the way, registering $1.697bn in revenue last year, and in second place was neighboring New Jersey, which recorded $1.007bn, surpassing the billion-dollar figure for the first time, and continuing to lead third-placed Illinois.
Sports bettors in New Jersey set a new record of $11.97bn wagered during 2023, representing a 9.5% increase over 2022, the vast majority of which was wagered online.
Strong foundations
The current success of the New Jersey sports betting sector and its ongoing growth did not happen overnight. Long-term growth is only possible with strong foundations that put operating companies in a position to take full advantage of the business opportunities.
The foundations of the sports betting sector in New Jersey were laid securely many years ago. Not only did the state have considerable experience regulating the gambling sector in Atlantic City, but it had also been actively working on sports betting legislation and regulations for almost a decade.
A referendum in 2011 was followed by Governor Christie signing sports betting into law in January 2012. A year later, a District Court decision halted sports betting in the state, and signaled the beginning of the legal dispute that would ultimately lead to the May 2018 Supreme Court ruling.
Those long years of rehearsing the many arguments for and against sports betting enabled New Jersey to implement a solid regulatory framework for sports betting in the state, so when the first bets were placed in August 2018, there were none of the hiccups or setbacks that have since been seen in other states. With over five years in operation, the New Jersey sports betting sector has proven itself to be reliable and well-regulated, which has enabled it to grow consistently.
Well-regulated sector
In any sector of the economy, consumer confidence is essential and in the sports betting industry, which for so long was the sole preserve of criminal gangs, establishing customer confidence has been a vital part of the sports betting project.
New Jersey has, from the beginning, implemented strong regulation, through a two-tier system made up of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and the Division of Gaming Enforcement. The Commission focuses on licensing and wider issues, while the Division is charged with investigation and enforcement. Together, these two bodies are widely respected within the industry and after five years of safe and steady regulation, New Jersey sports bettors can have confidence in the sector.
Wide variety for sports bettors
Another reason for the growing popularity of sports betting in New Jersey is the array of sportsbook operators that customers can choose from.
Although there has been some adjustment and consolidation in the sector, there are currently 19 sports betting sites and 11 sports betting retail venues in the state, offering sports bettors a wide variety of betting companies, including international and homegrown sportsbooks.
This puts New Jersey second only to Colorado when it comes to the number of sportsbooks to choose from, and such a thriving betting market is always likely to attract a growing number of customers.
Sport-centric state
Sports are a national obsession in the US, but few states have as high a proportion of sports fans per capita as New Jersey. This is hardly surprising given that the state lies at the heart of the east coast of the US, surrounded by popular sports franchises.
New Jersey itself has five professional franchises and neighboring New York City boasts 11, while Pennsylvania to the west features eight teams, and not far to the south are the seven teams of Washington DC and Baltimore.
This means that even when the bigger leagues such as the NFL and the NBA are not in action, there is still plenty of interest from MLB, NHL and MLS fans in the region to sustain a thriving sports betting sector, even though Pennsylvania and New York both also have sports betting sectors of their own.
Conclusion
New Jersey has been a sports betting trailblazer, taking the leading role in the legal challenge that effectively legalized sports betting nationwide, and though it has been overtaken by neighboring New York, it remains the home of one of the most sophisticated sports betting sectors in the US.
Annual revenue has now passed the $1bn mark, and shows no signs of slowing down, so it is likely that the number of people betting on sports in the Garden State will continue to rise over the next year.
By Chris Bates
