Bet365 is now live in New Jersey after strategically launching а locally licensed website ahead of the new NFL season, which kicks off on September 5.
In a Thursday tweet, the online gambling operator said that its New Jersey website is going through a pre-live phase. The website allows US bettors to open accounts from anywhere within the nation, but they “must be physically located in the state of New Jersey” in order to be able to place bets.
The soft-launch of its New Jersey website marks bet365’s official entry into the US regulated sports betting market a year after the company first announced plans to join the country’s sports gambling frenzy.
Bet365 partnered last summer Atlantic City’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to launch a sports betting operation in New Jersey. The bet365 website was the second of three skins to go live under a partnership with Hard Rock and under the casino’s license from New Jersey gambling regulators.
The first skin, a Hard Rock-branded website was launched early this year through a partnership with Gaming Innovation Group. The third skin, a Unibet-branded sportsbook, was expected to go live this summer, but owner Kindred Group is yet to announce a launch date. Тhe company recently went live with its Unibet online casino in New Jersey.
Bet365 Opens Office in New Jersey
It emerged earlier this year that bet365 would also open an office in New Jersey. The company signed a long-term office lease for 19,000 square feet of space at Two Greentree Center in Marlton, New Jersey. Marlton is located approximately 50 miles from Atlantic City.
Bet365’s entry into the New Jersey sports betting market is a first major step in the operator’s strategy to expand across the US gambling market.
While preparing for its New Jersey launch, bet365 announced this past April a partnership with Australian prepaid payment services provider EML Payments Limited. Under the multi-year agreement between the operator and the provider, EML’s US subsidiary would provide a bet365-branded reloadable card program in New Jersey. The deal could expand across other states.
New York could be bet365’s next US stop. The operator formed late last year “a strategic alliance” with Empire Resorts for the development and operation of a physical and online sportsbook at Resorts World Catskills in Upstate New York.
Bet365 arrives in New Jersey a bit late, but the operator’s global footprint and brand awareness will certainly help it gain traction in the local market. New Jersey’s betting space had a strong month in July, recording overall revenue of nearly $17.9 million.
The state’s ten retail sportsbooks and 14 digital betting operations handled more than $251.3 million last month, according to figures released last week by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. Of the combined handle for the month of July, around 85% came via mobile, it also became known.
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