The list of active New Jersey sportsbooks just got longer.
The Meadowlands Racetrack took its first sports bets on Saturday becoming the fourth facility in New Jersey and the second racetrack to join the NJ sports betting market.
The new FanDuel Sportsbook at the Meadowlands Racetrack opened its doors just a few miles from Manhattan. Local officials and politicians showed up to participate in the celebration of the latest venue in New Jersey to accept legal sports wagers.
Welcome to NJ sports betting, Meadowlands
The Meadowlands Sports Complex located in East Rutherford not only houses the racetrack and the FanDuel Sportsbook, it also consists of MetLife Stadium, home to the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets.
Many see the start of football season as a true indicator of the potential NJ sports betting holds. A sportsbook on the site of an NFL stadium and its proximity to New York positions the FanDuel Sportsbook to do very well.
Last week, the state Division of Gaming Enforcement released the sports betting revenue numbers for June. With only two weeks of sports betting in the month, the three New Jersey sportsbooks accepted $16.4 million worth of wagers.
The most popular bets were on Major League Baseball, even though the World Cup was in action. That will likely change once football season kicks off in September.
Jeff Gural, the CEO and owner of Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, talked about legal sports betting during the opening ceremonies.
“This takes something that’s been in the shadows and taking place illegally and now makes it legal,” Gural said.
Matt King, CEO of the FanDuel Group, also took to the microphone:
“I can think of no better place to open than the Meadowlands. The FanDuel Sportsbook at the Meadowlands is representative of our commitment to creating a best-in-class experience for sports fans everywhere. The way that people interact with sports is changing. We are on the cusp of something that will be dramatic and will be transformational of how people engage with the teams they love. We’re proud to be on the forefront of that.”
First day at the FanDuel Sportsbook
The Victory Lounge welcomed sports bettors to the window beginning at 11 a.m. It is not surprising that most of the early wagers were for the New York Giants or New York Yankees.
There were some bets on the World Cup Final as well.
The FanDuel Sportsbook is offering an unrivaled customer experience with a reasonably-priced menu, a large bar area, and an expansion in the works to accommodate the expected football season traffic.
The expansion, according to King, will include 15 cashier windows and 65 TVs.
But not everything went smoothly on day one though. Many futures bets were not on the board. The DGE controls the offerings a sportsbook can accept bets on and FanDuel did not have pre-authorization for some bets.
State Sen. Paul Sarlo found out that the popular Subway Series scheduled for next Friday was unavailable when he tried to place his bet on the Yankees. There were also no Stanley Cup futures on the board meaning no bets on the New Jersey Devils.
Football season is fast approaching and the FanDuel Sportsbook will be ready with plenty of cashiers and screens.
Football and sports betting: What’s not to love?