Best New Jersey Sports Betting Sites

Looking to bet on sports in New Jersey? We’ve got a line up of the best sports betting sites available to punters in the Garden State. Compare our expert reviews, scores and the bonuses on offer to pick out the bookie that suits you best. All of our featured sportsbooks are legal and regulated in the state of New Jersey. All that’s left for you to do is make your pick, sign up and start betting.

New Jersey  was the third state in the US to implement legal and regulated sports betting after the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), putting it on the same playing field as Nevada— where sports betting had been legal for many years— and Delaware, the first state to have launched sports betting after the PASPA repeal.

Since New Jersey legalized sports betting the state has been at the forefront of the US sports betting industry. Not only has the state shown that sports betting is a viable means to generate state revenue, it has also demonstrated that, when regulated properly, sports betting can be both a fun and safe activity for residents. Here is our rundown of the New Jersey sports betting market.

NJ Sports Betting Sites

• DraftKings Sportsbook – $500 bonus
• 888sport – 100% deposit match
• Pointsbet – Risk-free bet up to $100
• Sugarhouse Sportsbook – 100% up to $250
• BetMGM – Risk-free bet up to $500
• Borgata Sports – Risk-free bet up to $300
• FanDuel Sportsbook – $500 bonus
• William Hill – Free bet offer
• Unibet – Free bet + deposit bonus
• FOX Bet – Free bet offer

New Jersey sports betting licensing explained

How to place bets at land-based sportsbooks in New Jersey

New Jersey sports bettors can make wagers at several land-based casinos across the state. The first sportsbook in the state was William Hill, located at Monmouth Park. This sportsbook opened its doors at 10 a.m. on 14 June 2018. Just one hour later at 11 a.m, the Borgata sportsbook in Atlantic City also opened its doors and began taking sports bets.

Almost all Atlantic City casinos offer onsite sports betting, with the exception of Caesars Atlantic City- though patrons can bet on sports at Bally’s. The Freehold Raceway is the only other gambling venue in New Jersey that has not yet made plans to launch sports betting operations.

Why offshore sportsbooks are best avoided in New Jersey

Offshore sportsbooks are illegal in the state of New Jersey. You can spot these by looking at the website’s domain name. If you see a domain that ends in .EU or .AG it does not hold a license to operate in New Jersey and therefore should be avoided at all costs.

However, even some sites operation under .com domain may be operating illegally, which means you should take care to verify the safety of a betting site before you sign up. The only way to tell that a site is trustworthy is to check for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement seal before placing a bet on a website.

If you do come across a site that does not have a seal from the Division of Gaming Enforcement, it is best to report it and avoid the site.

The journey to legal and regulated sports betting in New Jersey

• 1992 – Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) prohibiting sports betting across US states. Four states were made exempt from the law: Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana. These states had legal sports betting regulations in place. New Jersey attempted to apply for exemption in 1991 but failed to act due to state-level political issues.
• 2010 – New Jersey realized it was missing out on potential revenue that would be generated through sports betting (sports betting licenses, licensing fees, tax etc.). Two State Senators, Raymond Lesniak and Stephen M. Sweeney file a lawsuit in an attempt to challenge federal law.
• 2011 – The US District Court rejected the lawsuit in March. The Court stated that only Governor Chris Christie could file a lawsuit of that nature. However, Gov. Christie was against pursuing legislation as he thought it would be too difficult to get around the federal ban. Later that year, voters in New Jersey voted in a referendum to make an amendment to the states constitution which would allow sports betting.
• 2012 – New Jersey enacted the Sports Wagering Act 2012, allowing sports wagering at casinos and racetracks in the state.
• In August, the major sports leagues (NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB and NCAA) united to sue New Jersey under PASPA to prohibit sports betting. The United States Department of Justice sided with the leagues. New Jersey acknowledges that the Sports Wagering Act violates PASPA but argued that PASPA violated the Tenth Amendment of the US Constitution. It was argued that the Tenth Amendment stripped the power of the state to oversee sports gambling.
• 2013 – In February,  the US District Judge for the District of New Jersey, ruled against the state and placed an injunction on New Jersey stopping the state from enacting the 2012 law. New Jersey attempted to appeal the injunction but was unsuccessful.
• 2014 – After multiple amendments to the Sports Wagering Act, Gov. Christie changed his mind and supported the attempt to legalize sports betting at a state level. This legislation was signed into law within five weeks. In November, the sports leagues sued the state again. The district court and third circuit court ruled in favor of the leagues as the revised law still violated PASPA.
• 2016 – In October, New Jersey petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari (judicial review). The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in 2017. This case was combined with another case in which the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NJTHA) petitioned the Supreme Court to allow sports betting at the Monmouth Park Racetrack
• 2017 – During the case, New Jersey elected a new Governor, Phil Murphy, who would take over from Christie. On 4 December, the court heard the arguments put forth by the state of New Jersey, the NJTHA and the leagues.
• 2018 – On 14 May, the Court reached a decision. In a 7 – 2 vote it was agreed that one the clauses in PASPA did indeed violate the Tenth Amendment as it commandeered power from states to regulate their own gambling industries. This made it legal for a state government to regulate their own gambling industries and therefore legalize sports betting if it wished.
• On 11 June, Governor Phil Murphy signed the sports betting bill (A4111) into law, legalizing sports betting in the state of New Jersey.
• On 9 August, DraftKings launched the first online and mobile sportsbook in New Jersey. This was closely followed by many more online sports betting platforms including: Play MGM, BetStars NJ, 888Sports NJ, SugarHouse, FanDuel, William Hill and Caesars.
• In December, DraftKings expanded into the realm of online casino gaming with the launch of DraftKings Casino in New Jersey. Sports media company, theScore, announced that it would also be launching its own sportsbook in New Jersey, thanks to a partnership with Monmouth Park.
• In 2018, the New Jersey sports betting market closed the year with strong sports betting figures: sports betting handle exceeded $1bn and sports betting revenue amounted to $94m. The state received $10.4m in tax revenue.
• 2019 – On 18 January, Australian sports betting platform, PointsBet, became the ninth mobile sports betting platform to launch in New Jersey. On 30 January, Hard Rock Atlantic City launched its online, mobile and land-based sportsbooks.