At 10:30 am tomorrow, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and former Sen. Raymond Lesniak will be among the first to place a legal real-money wager on sports in the Garden State. As for the rest of us? The floodgates are set to open just a few minutes later.
Only a limited number of facilities will offer sports wagering, but that number is expected to grow by leaps and bounds as the summer wears on. For now, here’s a look at where and when you’ll be able to scratch that sports betting itch, starting tomorrow.
Monmouth Park
Where: The Monmouth Park Sports Book by William Hill, 1st floor of the grandstand
When: 10:30 am, Thursday
From the looks of it, a bevy of political figures will be allowed to place the first bets. But the backpatting and media storm should only last a half-hour at most, with Monmouth Park expecting to open betting up to the public by 11 am.
That’s just in time for the first World Cup game, Saudi Arabia vs. Russia.
As far as what kind of wagering will be allowed, we have learned the following:
- Futures on Super Bowl and the World Series
- A host of prop bets, including US Open props
- Single game wagers on MLB, and Week #1 NFL
- World Cup 2-ways and 3-ways
Admittedly, the slate is a bit underwhelming, but June is generally a very quiet time for sports. Gov. Murphy penned the NJ sports betting bill (A 4111) into law on Monday, and the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement only enacted emergency regulations today, so Thursday is the earliest legal wagers could be accepted.
Monmouth has also announced the ongoing hours for its sports book:
- Monday – Thursday: 10 am – 1 am
- Friday: 10 am – 2 am
- Saturday: 8 am to 2 am
- Sunday: 8 am to 1 am
These hours all by guarantee that punters will be able to hang out for the late west coast games.
The Borgata
Where: Race & Sports Book (formerly Racebook), adjacent to the North Entrance and Borgata Poker Room
When: 11 am, Thursday
It’s almost fitting that the Borgata will be representing Atlantic City sports betting, as it’s by far the state’s most popular casino and still to this day supports simulcasting.
As early as last November, Borgata parent company MGM signaled that it would like to be an early adopter of sports betting, with $7 million committed to that realization. This foresight paid off, as the Borgata will be the only Atlantic City casino to accept wagers on sports tomorrow, and will probably remain the only option for at least a couple more weeks.
The book will open to the media at 10 am, with remarks from Borgata President and COO Marcus Glover at 10:30 am. The first sports bets will be taken at 11 am, right around the same time that public wagering will go live at Monmouth.
Anyone else?
That’s it, although we do have a few tidbits on when other NJ casinos and racetracks will be opening their books:
- Ocean Resort & Casino: Slated to open its book in tandem with its grand opening on June 28
- The Meadowlands: Limited options by mid-summer with a full rollout ahead of the NFL season.
- Golden Nugget Casino: Ahead of the NFL season, but will not offer bets on NBA games.
Resorts Casino is partnered with DraftKings and is expected to offer sports from its iGaming lounge, making for interesting crossover opportunities. There is no scheduled launch date at present.
Hard Rock Casino (opening June 28), Tropicana, and the three Caesars properties have not announced plans, although we presume all will offer sports betting. The state’s third horse racing track, Freehold Raceway is currently not ready to accept wagers.
