New Jersey Online Gambling Brief: Sports Meet Gambling; Gambling Meet Sports
Days after the Revel and the Showboat stopped accepting wagers, musings of their revival have emerged.
In what amounts to a desperate move by Chris Christie to revitalize fledgling Atlantic City, the Governor is pursuing a strategy first identified by State Senator Raymond Lesniak that could ultimately result in New Jersey’s casinos and racetracks accepting sports wagers as early as November 1st.
This, only one month after Christie vetoed a sports betting bill proposed by Lesniak.
My, what an impact the crumbling of one former gambling haven can have on lawmaker opinion.
But don’t celebrate just yet sports betting fans. Christie directive advising law enforcement agencies to exempt sports betting pools operated by regulated gambling facilities from criminal liability still has several hurdles to clear, including a ruling from District Judge Michael Shipp’s slated for no later than October 6th.
Should the court allow Christie’s directive to hold up, it paves the way for a resurgence in Atlantic City – and not a minute too soon.
In celebration of Christie’s change of heart, several of the state’s online casinos have rolled out football themed promotions.
Is this just a primer for things to come, or merely a well-timed coincidence?
Sports Betting And NJ’s Online Casinos
The one caveat of Christie’s directive is that the state’s casinos and racetracks cannot accept wagers on college or professional sporting events that are being held in New Jersey, or on a game where a New Jersey college team takes part, regardless of where the game is played.
Online sports betting was not addressed specifically, although it appears that in the launch phase, only brick and mortar gambling venues will be invited to participate.
If Christie’s primary goal is to encourage gamblers to visit AC casinos, place bets and then stick around to watch the game – which by my understanding it is – it would seemingly behoove him to allow online casinos affiliated with their physical counterparts to do the same.
Well… yes and no.
Allowing online sports betting would cut down on the amount of gamblers utilizing local bookies or offshore sites to place bets. It would also provide an additional revenue stream for Atlantic City’s struggling casinos.
Although given how small a revenue share the state’s online casinos generate relative to the live industry, how effective online sports betting would be in revitalizing AC remains largely in question.
But until it’s proven that online sports betting would not cannibalize the placement of live wagers, it’s difficult to say whether or not it would prove a supplementary vehicle or detriment to Atlantic City.
Ask the 8,000 employee workers that will likely be out of a job by November, and they’ll probably tell you “if online sports betting endangers our chances of procuring future employment, then the Hell with it.” And that would be a fair statement.
One thing’s for certain: if Christie’s directive permits regulated gambling facilities to host unregulated sports betting, then the path for regulated online gaming sites to do the same appears relatively straightforward.
Look like we’ll have to wait and see.
Football Themed Promos Dominate The Day
On a lighter note, both CaesarsCasino.com and VirginCasino.com have launched sports-themed promotions.
And to answer the question proposed above, no, the timing of the promos likely had little to do with Christie issuing his directive.
Although it is likely that Christie’s choosing of September 8, the same day he held a meeting to discuss the financial crisis in Atlantic City and the night the New York football Giants kicked off their 2014-15 campaign, most certainly did.
Caesars’ Football Kickoff Bonus awards gamblers who have made at least one $25 or greater deposit onto the site with the opportunity to receive a 20% match bonus on their next deposit up to $500. In addition, eligible players will be entered into a sweepstakes, where they can win their share of $2,500 in cash and bonus play.
So what does the promotion have to do with football? Beyond the name, absolutely nothing. But hey, free money!
The promo runs from now until September 30th.
Virgin’s version of a football themed promo is a bit more creative, if not as lucrative. The site’s Fantasy Slot Draft encourages users to head on over to its Facebook page and vote on which slot they’d like to see offer a 10% playback bonus.
Whatever slot receives the most votes, wins. Virgin’s crafty flash promo expires at midnight on September 10th.
Other Notable Promos
Among the new promos that do not have a football theme attached to them, here are a few of the most noteworthy:
- Borgata’s Fortune Cookie Day: Sign in to your BorgataCasino.com account on Saturday, September 13th to open a virtual Fortune Cookie. Just don’t expect to see a Chinese proverb or other sagely wisdom attached. Instead, the cookie will reveal a bonus cash amount up to $1,000. In order to clear the bonus, players must wager the full amount awarded at any of Borgata’s slot terminals.
- UCasino’s September 100% Reload Bonus: In so long as players have made at least one prior deposit, they can use the SEPTRELOAD code to receive a 100% match bonus on their next deposit between $50 and $500. Bonuses that are cleared by Sept. 30th will be awarded in the site’s U$ currency on October 3rd. Promo expires on September 12th.
- Tropicana’s Breakfast Club: For all you early risers (or vampires), Tropicana is offering 10% playback up to $25 on all net losses each morning from 6 am – 11 am from now until September 11th. The usual swatch of eligibility caveats apply.
Also worth noting, BorgataCasino.com has rolled out a myriad of new movie-themed and other slot machines including Star Trek: Against All Odds, Battleship and Dungeons and Dragons. Worth a look, if only to check out the new bonus games.
Betfair Safe…For Now
Despite the impending closure of Trump Plaza, the DGE is permitting online gaming partner Betffair to continue to take real-money wagers.
However, according to David Rebuck, once Trump Plaza hands over its casino license, all bets are off.
Should Betfair, whose online casino and poker rooms currently reside in the industry’s cellar, not be able to procure an alignment with another AC casino by that time, it appears that their NJ experiment will come to an abrupt halt.
Ultimate Gaming could be facing a similar fate in November should Trump Taj follow through on its plans to close in November.
When will it end?
