It didn’t take long.
In the span of a little more than one month, DraftKing’s online/mobile New Jersey sports betting platform, DraftKings Sportsbook, logged its one-millionth bet.
And this after just one month of being the only online sportsbook available in the state.
They announced the milestone via Twitter on Sept. 7:
That was fast! Congratulations, NJ. Your 1,000,000th bet has officially been placed. A simple $3 Run Line wager from Butler, NJ turned into $10,000 in FREE bets. Join us on the ride to the next million. pic.twitter.com/maLYPoxp0a
— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) September 8, 2018
How did DraftKings get this far?
DraftKings had the tremendous advantage of being first to market in NJ sports betting.
And, in a curious turn of events, it was the only sports betting online/mobile platform in the state for a full three weeks until PlayMGM and SugarHouse Sportsbook launched on Aug. 22 and Aug. 23, respectively.
During that three weeks of no competition, the site was no doubt able to reach the 1 million mark much faster than initially anticipated.
It also kept itself firmly in the spotlight with headline after headline. Whether it was expanding its offices, hiring new positions, or adding NBA star Charles Barkley as a spokesperson, DraftKings stayed in the news.
Introducing the newest partner of #DKSportsbook, Charles Barkley. pic.twitter.com/nAdHeQsQdd
— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) August 9, 2018
Then, as the one millionth bet approached, DraftKings announced a promotion to celebrate the approaching milestone. The lucky one-millionth bettor received $10,000 in free bets.
The DraftKings menu: NFL, MLB, and in-play betting
The other deciding factor for reaching that one-million milestone may very well be the variety of bets available.
DraftKings Sportsbook offers NJ bettors different types of sports and a selection of betting options. At the time of publishing, the NJ sportsbook app had the following types of bets available:
- Parlay
- Moneyline
- Spread
- Over/under
- In-game prop bets
- Futures
The site also has at least 32 different sports or groups of sports on which you can bet, including:
- Australian rules football
- Curling
- NFL
- MLB
- NBA
- NHL
- Curling
- Darts
- eSports
- MMA
- Lacrosse
- Motorsports
New Jersey residents essentially get a full slate of betting options both in the kind of bet and the sport upon which they’re placing their bets.
But NJ sports betting competition is closing in
The company’s reign over the online/mobile New Jersey sports betting world ended, as we mentioned, on Aug. 22 when playMGM launched its online sports betting platform via a skin from Borgata.
One day later, SugarHouse launched its online platform via a skin from Golden Nugget.
Since SugarHouse’s launch, five more online sportsbooks emerged to provide DraftKings competition for what is a massively popular niche in the NJ online gambling scene.
- FanDuel Sportsbook
- Caesars sportsbook
- William Hill sportsbook
- 888 Sportsbook
- BetStars
While it took some time for casinos and their sports betting partners to join the NJ online betting scene, the new era of sports betting in America is alive and well in the Garden State.
So when will DraftKings Sportsbook hit the two million bet milestone? Or three million bets? The competition is heating up, but it is football season.