The Hard Rock Atlantic City has opened its own live and online sports book at its Boardwalk casino making it the eighth casino sportsbook to open in Atlantic City.
All nine of the city’s casinos now offer sports betting, though Caesars casino is still sharing a temporary live facility with Bally’s Atlantic City.
Hard Rock received approval to launch soft play from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement more than a week ago and was able to get play fully started in time for the Super Bowl.
“We couldn’t be more excited to launch our online and land-based sportsbook, providing our guests and players the opportunity to bet on football’s big game this weekend,” said Joe Lupo, Hard Rock president in a press release. “Players will be able to enjoy a full range of bets on the game, as well as all other major sporting events across the calendar, with exciting promotions and events coming soon. “
Hard Rock is the former Trump Taj Mahal casino and opened in June. While most Atlantic City casinos began offering sports betting shortly after play went live in the state—also in June—Hard Rock was delayed due to issues with the company’s stadium naming rights deal with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Those issues were reportedly worked out due to changes in NFL policy involving casino gambling.
“The launch of the sportsbook at HardRockSports.com is another milestone on our journey to becoming the most innovative and comprehensive online gaming service for players in the State of New Jersey” said Kresimir Spajic, senior vice president of online gaming at Hard Rock International. “Sports are integral to New Jersey’s culture and HardRockSports.com provides fans with the best platform to bet on their favorite teams and sporting events.”
Both the land-based and online sportsbook at Hard Rock are powered by Gaming Innovation Group.
In another matter, a recent report by njgamblingsites.com bears out a trend in the state’s sports betting market that has been suspected by analysts. Namely, that residents of neighboring Pennsylvania and New York cross the state line to make bets.
Lindsay Slader, VP of regulatory affairs for GeoComply, a geolocation company used by most New Jersey gambling sites told the website that the majority of online bets placed in the state are made within 10 miles of the state’s borders.
New Jersey law that bets at online sites be made within the state’s borders, but do not require players to be state residents. Software like GeoComply are used to ensure players are in New Jersey when they bet.
According to Slader, approximately 80 percent of all geolocation hits in New land within 10 miles of the New Jersey border and about 44 percent of users are within 2 miles of the state line, the website reported.
“They’ll make the trip over,” Slader said, “Walk over a bridge or hop on a train and stand in the station in Jersey City, then turn back around once they’re done placing their bets. It’s very much part of the betting experience,” Slader said, “for people close to those borders.”
Officials for DraftKings and Fanduel—which both operate online sportsbooks in the state—also recently told the New York Post that about 10 percent of their customers have New York addresses.
Also, sports betting company Bet.Works announced continues to it had hired Marc Brody as Senior Vice President of Business Development ahead of its launch of a New Jersey sports betting app for sports media company theScore.
Brody, most recently of sports betting operator SBTech, will be responsible for defining opportunities for growth across the US while also overseeing company business development.
“Bet.Works is by far the most dynamic technology provider in the industry and its enterprise-grade sports betting platform is precisely what operators in the US have been seeking,” Brody said in a press release. “Bet.Works is solely focused on the US market, which will provide our partners with a unique advantage over the current competition. I am thrilled to be a part of this exceptional team and look forward to driving the expansion of Bet.Works’ products and managed services.”
Bet.Works plans to first launch operations in New Jersey. Media company theScore will utilize Bet.Works for its mobile platform and will partner with Monmouth Park Racetrack, the release said.
Finally, Evolution Gaming announced that it will supply its live-dealer services to DraftKings online casino in New Jersey.
“DraftKings is a young and dynamic company that has blazed a trail in recent years with its best-in-class technology and extensive knowledge of sports,” said James Stern, CBO of Evolution in a press release. “DraftKings was first to market in New Jersey with online sports betting, just a couple of months after filing for its license with the New Jersey regulators. We very much look forward to working with DraftKings on this project.”
Evolution has a broadcast studio in Atlantic City and provides live dealer action for several online casino sites in the state.
