New Jersey Sports Betting: The Best NJ Betting Sites
Sports betting in New Jersey has been legal online/on mobile and in retail settings since June 2018. Check out the best betting sites for bettors in the Garden State.
New Jersey Sports Betting
New Jersey has been a trailblazer for allowing states to open up their own gambling markets, especially for both online and retail-based sports betting. The first retail sportsbooks opened in June 2018, with legal online sports betting coming just two months later in August 2018.
New Jersey was fundamental in allowing states to decide their own sports betting laws after successfully challenginspg the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PAPSA) in the Supreme Court. Their successful series of legal challenges that PASPA was unconstitutional cleared the way for states outside of the four grandfathered in to decide if they wanted to legalize sports betting.
New Jersey Sports Betting FAQs
Is sports betting legal in New Jersey?
Sports betting is completely legal in New Jersey. It has been available in retail sportsbooks since June 2018, and players have been able to bet on sports online since August 2018.
This follows a long series of legal challenges against the PAPSA rules which had previously stopped the Garden State from deciding on its own sports betting laws.
Who governs sports betting in New Jersey?
Sports betting in New Jersey is overseen by two bodies. These are the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, and the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement is in charge of ensuring that fair gaming takes place across the Garden State’s physical and online New Jersey sportsbooks. Their work allows customers to gamble safely and with peace of mind.
The New Jersey Casino Control Commission is tasked with granting licenses for operators and key casino personnel, along with holding appeal hearings from Gaming Enforcement investigations.
Where can I bet on sports in New Jersey?
Online sports betting is completely legal in New Jersey. This means that residents who are at least 21 years old can use any of the numerous licensed online sportsbooks to place bets.
There are also twelve physical sportsbooks in the Garden State for sports bettors to enjoy.
Three of these are found at New Jersey’s horse racing tracks, with a further nine in Atlantic City casinos.
How old do you have to be to bet in New Jersey?
The minimum age for betting on sports online and in retail settings is 21 years old. There are no plans for this age limit to be reviewed in the future.
However, the minimum age for placing bets on horses at any of New Jersey’s regulated horse tracks remains 18.
What sports can I bet on in New Jersey?
There are no restrictions on which professional sports bettors can wager on in New Jersey, either online or at retail sportsbooks. This means that you are free to place wagers on everything from NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB games to international sports and tournaments.
There are also a few restrictions for betting on college sports. This will allow you to bet on the biggest NCAA games and tournaments which involve teams from across the nation.
However, you are not currently allowed to bet on in-state college sports. A potential law change was placed on the ballot in November 2021 to overturn this, but it did not pass.
Legal New Jersey online sports betting
Our top 5 New Jersey Sports betting sites
- BetMGM – Most complete sportsbook
- bet365 – Deep line selections
- FanDuel – Highly competitive odds
- Caesars – Leading promotions and bonuses
- DraftKings – Great statistical analysis
5. DraftKings
DraftKings may have started life in fantasy sports, but they have since transitioned into being one of the market-leading sportsbooks.
As you may expect from a company that originated in fantasy sports, DraftKings take a statistical approach to their sportsbook. It is easy to view the background stats of a bet in a single click, while they also offer articles with their own detailed selection analysis.
One of the best features on the DraftKings sportsbook is Odds Boost, where select lines each day are inflated to offer better returns. These often run alongside premade parlays, which allow players to quickly and easily back the day’s best action.
4. Caesars
There are few names more reputable in gambling than Caesars, and they are now bringing those years of expertise to online sports betting. Since purchasing the William Hill sportsbook, they have become one of the top places to bet on sports online. New bettors on Caesars can get a First Bet up to $1,000.
What makes Caesars stand out is their generous collection of promotions and bonuses, which offer something to suit the preferences of every player. There are also daily selections of boosted odds and high-value parlay bets for customers to easily chose from.
3. FanDuel
FanDuel is another fantasy sports operator that has successfully added a top sportsbook to offer their customers. The main way they have done this is by ensuring they offer highly competitive odds. FanDuel’s current new customer offer lets new users Bet $5 on Any Moneyline, Get $150 in Bonus Bets If Your Bet Wins. Plus, all customers will get a daily profit boost.
Players can often find the best value lines from among FanDuel’s deep selections. The clean design on their app and website always ensures it’s easy to find the line you want to back.
Along with this, there are daily offerings of boosted odds, along with a selection of high-value parlay picks. For those who prefer to build their own parlay bets, there is also a comprehensive one-game parlay bet builder.
2. bet365
There are few sportsbooks on the market with the depth of options as bet365. They are one of the leading global sportsbooks, and as such are able to offer hugely specific lines across a wide variety of domestic and international sports.
Right now, the two new customer offers from bet365 let new users bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets or get a First Bet Safety Net up to $1000!
Their experience means that none of this is overwhelming, though. bet365 are industry veterans, and they know how to present the huge number of lines and events available in a clean and easily accessible way.
bet365 also offers a generous variety of bonuses and promotions, along with suggestions for parlay bets on the day’s leading action.
1. BetMGM
BetMGM has quickly become the leading online sportsbook since online sports betting has been legalized in New Jersey. This is thanks to their complete catalogue of sports to bet on, along with the deep selection of lines on each event.
BetMGM is now promoting an exclusive new customer offer that lets new customers get their first deposit matched up to $1,500 in bonus bets. The exclusive new customer from BetMGM lets new bettors get a 20% deposit match worth up to $1,500 in bonus bets. So if you deposited $300, you would get $60 in bonus bets, and so on up to $1,500 (meaning $7,500 is the max initial deposit for this offer).
With such a well-designed online sportsbook, offering a generous selection of promotions and bonuses, it’s easy to see why we rank BetMGM as the best online sports betting option for New Jersey.
*This offer is not available in NY, DC, NV, or KS.
ESPN BET: Coming Soon to New Jersey
The highly anticipated sportsbook powered by ESPN is coming to New Jersey sometime in November 2023. This is great news for those in the state looking for a new sports wagering option. Once the ESPN BET promo code is announced, we will have the promotion details and all the other information you need to know about what we expect to be a terrific sportsbook.
BetRivers
BetRivers is the online sportsbook of the Illinois-based Rivers Casino, and as such is one of the best-trusted names in online sports betting.
They offer a full selection of domestic and international sports to bet on, with deep line options available for every event. There are also generous promotions, along with plenty of parlay options which players can either build themself of taking pre-selected.
Betway
New Jersey is one of the five states where players can enjoy the services of the leading international sports betting site Betway.
The site offers players a huge range of domestic and international events to bet on, along with pre-selected special parlay bets and enhanced odds on selected games.
Betway is also generous with their bonuses, especially on parlay bets. There are multiple chances for players to enjoy enhanced odds multi-game parlay bets they build themselves.
PointsBet
While PointsBet offers a full traditional sportsbook, their stand-out feature is easily their PointsBetting option.
This allows players to pick a traditional under/over total point line, and assign a value to a point. The outcome is then determined by how far over or under the total points chosen.
This is not a gimmick sportsbook, though. PointsBet offers a full range of traditional events, lines, and parlays alongside their PointsBetting feature.
Borgata
Where else would Borgata Sportsbook be legal than the very state of the famous Borgata Casino? Bettors in NJ were the first to get access to Borgata Sportsbook, with just two states going legal so far.
Our favourite aspect of this sports betting site from Borgata Sportsbook is how simply it’s laid out making it easy for sports betting rookies to find the bets, odds or promotions they want. Expert bettors who know how to dig deeper will find all the markets they require and more too.
New Jersey Sports Betting Promo Codes
With New Jersey being one of the biggest and most evolved states for legal online sports begging, it is a highly competitive market for bookmakers. In order to attract customers, they offer generous bonuses and promotions, the best of which are listed below.
Retail Sportsbooks open in New Jersey
There are twelve retail sportsbooks in the Garden State. Three of these are at regulated New Jersey horse racing tracks, with the other nine located in Atlantic City casinos.
Latest New Jersey Sports Betting News
Legal online sports betting continues to be hugely popular in New Jersey, with more than $1.2 billion worth of bets handled in December 2021 alone. This brought the full-year total up to $10.9 billion, a large increase on the total of $6 billion which was handled in 2020.
This huge ongoing success of online sports betting in the Garden State means that the local industry is still continuing to look for ways to expand.
New Jersey granted its first license for a specialist eSports online sportsbook in January 2021, the same month where PointsBet was granted permission to expand its live betting offerings.
The history of New Jersey Sports Betting
New Jersey is the originator of being able to offer legal sports betting, having brought the initial legal action which cleared the path for states to decide their own gambling laws. This is as true for online sports betting as it is for retail sportsbooks.
The first attempts to legalize sports betting in New Jersey came as far back as 2012, however, it was a stuttering effort that was rebuked under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The Garden State continued preparing legislation as it challenged PASPA, and in May 2018 the Supreme Court ruled PASPA unconstitutional.
This led to Governor Phil Murphy rapidly signing legal sports betting into law. The first retail sportsbooks duly arrived in June 2018, with online sports betting coming in August 2018.
New Jersey overtook the traditional hub of Las Vegas to become the biggest sports betting market in 2019, and by the end of 2021 was worth almost $11 billion per year.
New Jersey Sports Teams to bet on
While New Jersey may only have one professional sports team of its own, MetLife Stadium brings two of the NFL’s most storied franchises across the Hudson to play their home games.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils moved to the Garden State in 1982, having previously played as the Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Scouts. The team took no time to embed themselves into fierce rivalries with the other area hockey teams, the New York Rangers and New York Islanders.
The Devils already have three Stanley Cups to their name, winning their first in 1995 before picking up another pair in 2000 and 2003.
New York Giants
The New York Giants are by far the more successful of the pair of teams who play their home games at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. They have four Super Bowls in their history, along with four NFL Championships before the AFL-NFL merger.
The Giants are perhaps best known for their two upset Super Bowl victories over the New England Patriots. In both 2007 and 2011 they were unfancied underdogs before pulling off stunning upsets over Patriots teams quarterbacked by the legendary Tom Brady.
New York Jets
The New York Jets may be one of the NFL’s worse performing franchises, but they still enjoy rabid support from fans on both sides of the Hudson. Their loyal fans long for a return to their glory days of the late-60s, when ‘Broadway’ Joe Namath lead them to glory in Super Bowl III.
