HELLO! Today is the day you have been waiting for and probably didn’t even know it– casinos can now begin offering online sports betting in New Jersey.

On June 11, Governor Phil Murphy signed the sports betting bill into effect, paving the way for legal sports betting in New Jersey. In-person sportsbooks were cleared to open and did so just a few days later, with Monmouth Park and The Borgata accepting wagers on June 14, when I placed, I think, the fourth sports bet at The Borgata after Dr. J, Angelo Cataldi and someone else.

The law put into place a 30-day waiting period for online sportsbooks, however, which means, if my math is rock solid, today is the day casinos can begin offering legal online sports betting in New Jersey.

Will they?

Most likely not.

While online sports betting is coming to New Jersey soon, it does not appear that any operators are prepared to begin accepting bets today.

Why?

There is a complicated tangle of casinos, licensed operators, vendors and so on. Often, the casino backing an online sportsbook – say, Resorts – will not be the consumer-facing brand. They may partner with an established (European) sportsbook or betting tech firm to power their offering. In the case of Resorts, DraftKings will provide the “skin” for their online sportsbook in New Jersey, meaning you’ll likely sign up for DraftKings, but actually be betting with Resorts. It’s all very confusing, and I’ve spent two months trying to decipher all the relationships and still don’t fully understand it, mostly because the market hasn’t come to fruition yet.

But we’re close to see legal online sports betting in New Jersey. At the East Coast Gaming Congress last month in Atlantic City, the chief gambling regulator, David Rebuck, explained that some operators would be ready to go within 30-60 days from when the bill was signed into law:

So what are those relationships and who can we expect to offer online sports betting in New Jersey? Here’s our breakdown:

 

DraftKings

As I said, DraftKings is partnered with Resorts, which will use SB Tech to provide their casino-based sportsbook. DK is already a market leader in the US in daily fantasy and they will have the brand recognition advantage to sports fans. They are eager to get going and even had billboards in New Jersey promoting their upcoming sportsbook, so it’s only a matter of time.

 

FanDuel Group

This one is interesting. FanDuel was bought by European bookmaker Betfair, forming a combined US entity FanDuel Group, which just became official… today. They sent out an email and said they will be live by NFL season, if not sooner.

FanDuel will be the US-facing brand of Betfair. In New Jersey, the company is partnered with The Meadowlands, which will begin taking bets on Saturday. As for the online sportsbook… same deal, it’s likely coming very soon.

 

William Hill

The leader in Nevada, William Hill backs the sportsbooks at Monmouth Park and the new Ocean Resort. They already have an app in Nevada, so turning it on for New Jersey customers seems like a rather easy flip of the switch.

 

888 sport

I can tell you 888 is ready to offer online sports betting, but it’s not clear yet which casino they are partnered with. They are, however, licensed in the state, and appear to be ready to go with their betting app. It’s coming in a couple of weeks.

 

bet365

They are they leader in European soccer betting and just struck a deal with the new Hard Rock Casino in New Jersey. They will likely provide the “skin” for the Hard Rock’s New Jersey betting app. My guess is that this one will take a little longer to come to market since the Hard Rock doesn’t yet have a sportsbook. But it will be a major player once it does.

 

To stay updated, check out our New Jersey sports betting page.