Bet365 Sets Foot in New Jersey; On Track for Summer Sports Betting Launch

British online gambling powerhouse bet365 has secured its physical presence in New Jersey as part of its planned expansion into that state, news emerged last week

The company has recently signed a long-term office lease for nearly 19,000 square feet of space at Two Greentree Center in Marlton, New Jersey. Marlton is a census-designated place located approximately 50 miles from Atlantic City. Financial terms of bet365’s lease contract have not been disclosed.

Securing office space in New Jersey marks the gambling giant’s entry into the United States. According to sources, bet365 is on track to launch its first regulated online sports betting services in New Jersey this summer.

It was last summer when news first emerged about the company’s intention to explore New Jersey’s sports betting market through a partnership with a local casino. The state quickly legalized wagering following the landmark SCOTUS ruling that struck down a federal ban on the practice. Legal sports betting services went live in New Jersey in mid-June, precisely a month after the Supreme Court issued its decision.

Under the state’s gambling law, an interested online betting operator should form a partnership with a local land-based casino or a racetrack in order to be able to provide sports gambling services to local customers.

Bet365 Joins Forces with Hard Rock for Sports Betting Launch

It became known last summer, through correspondence published on the website of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, that bet365 has partnered Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City to enter the state’s newly regulated online sports betting space.

Hard Rock debuted its Atlantic City property in late June 2018 at the site of the former Trump Taj Mahal hotel and casino resort. After months of speculations over whether the property would be allowed to operate sports betting due to its parent company’s naming rights deal with the stadium where the Miami Dolphins play their home games, it eventually emerged that Hard Rock has received the necessary regulatory approval to run a physical sportsbook and an online betting operation.

The property came a bit late to the New Jersey sports betting party, launching wagering on site and online early this year.

The partnership between Hard Rock and bet365 is purely of skin nature. This means that bet365 will run a self-branded sports betting website. The British operator and its New Jersey partner are yet to announce a launch date for that operation.

The online gambling giant has also set sights on New York as its next expansion destination. Late last year, bet365 forged an alliance with Empire Resorts, the company running the Resorts World Catskills casino resort in Monticello, NY. Under their agreement, bet365 will be able to offer online sports betting, should the practice get regulated in the state.

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