888holdings has announced the launch of its first ever sportsbook stateside as 888sport has gone live in the regulated New Jersey market.
Sports bets can be placed across mobile, desktop and tablets due to the integration with 888’s longtime software partner Kambi. A single wallet for players has been created so that funds can easily be accessed across the 888sport, 888casino and 888poker verticals.
“The launch of 888sport.com in New Jersey is a major milestone for the company in our ongoing expansion across the regulated U.S. online gaming market and provides 888 with a unique and truly multi-product proposition in what is currently the largest regulated U.S state,” said Itai Frieberger, CEO of 888.
“888 has been committed to developing its position in the U.S. since launching in Nevada, the first regulated U.S. state, nearly six years ago and today we are the only operator with a presence in all three regulated U.S. states. We now have our sport, casino and poker products all operational in the U.S. and are continually developing our proposition, brands and technology to ensure that the Group remains exceptionally well positioned to capture the potentially significant future growth opportunities as new regulation allows,” Frieberger went on to say.
Sports Betting Interest in New Jersey
New Jersey is becoming the focus for new operators entering the sports betting arena, which became legal in June.
In August it was announced that Swedish-owned, Kindred Group, would enter the New Jersey market with a 5+ year partnership with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. At the time of the partnership Kindred called the NJ market the soon-to-be “largest betting market in the world”.
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Not one to be left on the sidelines, PokerStars has created a sportsbook called BetStarsNJ.com—although all public-facing content has been removed since it was spotted last week. This might be due to the site waiting for approval from the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) as BetStarsNJ.com is currently missing from the approved online sports betting sites listed on the site.
However, when BetStarsNJ does get approval from the DGE (which is expected) and once it goes live, (like 888) it will mark the first time a PokerStars sportsbook has been available to players in the US.
888 in the United States and Pennsylvania
Online poker and casino offerings from 888 are already available in New Jersey and Delaware, and it looks like 888 is also set to go live in Pennsylvania. 888 also provides the online poker platform for WSOP.com in Nevada.
888 partnered with bricks and mortar Pennsylvania casino Mount Airy in 2015 to offer real money online poker when legal in the state. And now that online gaming is legal, it can be expected that 888poker and 888casino will run as a subdomain on the Mount Airy site when the state comes online—as state law allows license holders to support multiple skins.
However, an online poker room from PokerStars is also expected along with a PokerStars casino and BetStars sportsbook as Mount Airy partnered exclusively with PokerStars to bring a sports wagering product to its customers. Unlike online poker, the law states that only one sportsbook can be attached to any casino—with Mount Airy choosing PokerStars, not 888.
$40 Million in Sports Bets In Just 3 Months
So far sports betting within the state of New Jersey is going from strength to strength.
It was estimated that operators took in nearly $40 million in sports bets with revenue generated from those wagers totaling just under $4 million in July.
Revenue from online casino games reached another record high in July, drawing in more than $24 million, approximately 13 times the amount generated by online poker.
Despite that, online poker in July saw 888poker and WSOP.com, who operate on the All-American Poker Network (AAPN) under the Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) license, take the top revenue spot, overtaking market leader PokerStars for the first time.
