NJ Sports Betting: Best NJ Sportsbooks & Betting Apps 2023

NJ sports betting has been legal since June 14, 2018. Read on to find out which sportsbooks are currently legal in New Jersey, as well as how the Garden State paved the way for online sports betting regulation in the US.

Best Online Sportsbooks & Apps in New Jersey in June 2023

Online sports betting witnessed a historic moment in 2018 and it all started in the State of New Jersey.

The reason? A major decision by the United States Supreme Court opened the door for each state in the country to decide its own rules around sports gambling.

The case was between Garden State Governor Phil Murphy and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Murphy and the New Jersey state government were in favor of overturning previous legislation banning sports gambling. The NCAA was on the other side and argued that the federal government’s anti-gambling laws trumped the state’s rights to make its own rules.

After a lengthy court battle, the Supreme Court found in favor of New Jersey, ruling that federal legislation actually infringed on the state’s constitutional rights to govern itself.

Following the decision, New Jersey quickly started offering real money sports betting at land-based casinos and at online betting sites, including mobile sports betting, and the best part is that it’s all 100% above board and legal.

On this page, we’ll take a deep dive into the world of sports betting legislation in New Jersey.

New Jersey Sports Betting Quick Facts

Not all sportsbooks are created equally. In a state with some of the best options when it comes to sports betting there is a glut of amazing books for customers to choose from. In this section we are going to cover the best sportsbooks when it comes to the following metrics:

• Top NJ Betting Sites for Bonuses
• Best Sportsbooks in New Jersey for Fast Withdrawals
• Best Overall Sportsbooks in NJ
• Best Live Betting Sportsbooks in New Jersey
• Most Popular Mobile Sportsbook Apps in NJ
• Sportsbook with the Sharpest Lines
• No or Low Deposit NJ Sportsbooks
• Risk-Free Sportsbooks in NJ
• Best Customer Support Sportsbook
• NJ Sportsbooks Without Location Validators

Top NJ Betting Sites for Bonuses

New Jersey is the mother of sports betting in the USA, having legalized it before any other state outside of Nevada. Because of that New Jersey has a greater variety of sportsbook options than anyone else, and with that variety of choices comes competition to offer the best bonuses! The following table offers the best bonuses by sportsbooks offered in New Jersey right now!

Didn’t find what you were looking for? Find the best bonuses for the NFL, or the best bonuses for the NHL, or even the best bonuses for the NBA on these links. Sportsbooks aren’t all the same and some of them offer better bonuses for different sports so it pays to do your research!

Best Sportsbooks in New Jersey for Fast Withdrawals

Sportsbooks don’t all take the same deposit and withdrawal methods, and along with that, some sportsbooks are known for lightning-fast withdrawals when it comes time for you to cash out your winnings!

At sportsbooks, many factors play into how long it can take you to withdrawal your winnings, mainly, which way you are choosing to withdraw your cash. For instance, nearly any sportsbook will be able to cash you out at the cage instantly, but all sportsbooks will be slower when you are using a bank wire. However, on average, some sportsbooks are known for having an overall easy/fast withdrawal process. Check out the following tables to see how the different sportsbooks in New Jersey compare to one another when it is time for you to cash out and the number of different methods they offer for withdrawals!

Best Live Betting Sportsbooks in New Jersey

As you may know, sportsbooks are not all the same. Some focus on having sharp odds, some on having a wide variety of deposit/withdrawal methods, but when it comes to live betting who is king?

What is live betting? Live betting is normal betting except for the crucial difference that the odds are live and shifting during a live game. This makes live betting infinitely more interesting since the oddsmakers are watching the game and adjusting odds as the game plays out. If you’re sharp enough you might find some real opportunities.

Check out these sportsbooks that excel in live betting on their apps and sites!

Fastest Sign-Up Sportsbooks in New Jersey

Trying to open an account with a sportsbook hours before the big game? We’ve got you covered. If this is the first sportsbook you’re signing up to then the entire process should be doable in under 10 minutes from download to placing your first bet.

Every sportsbook app has an interest in getting you started as quickly as possible, so chances are if you are having trouble getting signed up quickly it is something you are doing. For instance, if you signed up for a sportsbook and didn’t get your confirmation email then you should check your spam box.

Other limitations that may throttle your sign up time may be the deposit method that you are using. If you are linking your bank account to your sportsbook directly and it is a Sunday then you might have to wait to get started until the bank opens again.

Most Popular Mobile Sportsbook Apps in NJ

When it comes to sports betting nobody in the USA is as practiced as New Jersey since they legalized in June 2018, and the amount of money being wagered in the state in January 2020 reaching nearly one billion dollars with $996,300,794! And so it makes sense that what is most popular in New Jersey is what is best on the market. Check out the sportsbook apps below with the highest amounts of downloads in New Jersey!

NJ Sportsbooks with the Sharpest Lines

You want the NJ sportsbook with the sharpest lines, but what does “sharp” mean in sports betting? Sharp means a bettor who wins more than they lose in sports betting. Someone who even though the odds are against them they usually come out on top. A sharp line better is someone who scans different odds at different books and jumps on the ones where they see an advantage. So what are sharp lines? A sportsbook with sharp lines is one where sharp bettors have identified more than an average amount of odds with an advantage. Sharp bettors sometimes bet on little-known teams at the college level in order to find gaps in the oddsmaker’s judgments.

With that in mind here is our list of what we consider to be the sportsbooks with the sharpest lines available in New Jersey!

No deposit NJ Sportsbooks

Some sportsbooks make you complete a deposit in order to finalize your account creation, others give you a certain number of risk-free bets for FREE to gain your sign-up, and the rest fall somewhere in between. Most sportsbooks do not give 100% free deposits but instead will match your deposit or give you a certain number of free bet credits with which to use on their sportsbook platform. Also, no deposit offers are generally short term promotions.

With that in mind, we have compiled some of the best deposit matching offers that we are sure will stick around, in order for you to get the most out of the deposit you end up making. Check out this list of sportsbooks!

Risk Free Sportsbooks in NJ

So you’re in New Jersey and you want to get started betting, and not just that but you want to take advantage of the Risk-Free betting offers being given out by sportsbooks? Well, you can read out a list of Risk-FREE sportsbook offers in NJ where you can read more about it, or you can click any of the following risk-free sportsbooks in NJ now!

Best Customer Support Sportsbooks in NJ

We all know what it is like to sit on the phone for hours waiting to get through to a customer service representative. At these sportsbooks, the wait won’t be nearly as painful or nearly as long as some experiences you may have had in the past. The following sportsbooks are all known for having quick and efficient customer care so that you can start betting on the sports that matter to you instead of waiting on the phone.

NJ Sportsbooks Without Location Validators

What is a location validator and does your sportsbook have one? The short and skinny is that a location validator is something on your sportsbook that can tell whether or not you are using a VPN to spoof your true location. If you want to learn more about what location validators are and what they’re used for then check out our guide on geo-validators.

The bad news about location validators is that all New Jersey sportsbooks are now using them and it is likely that every other state with legal sports betting will also soon be using them as well.

Best NJ Sportsbook Overall

New Jersey has the largest number of sportsbooks available in the nation, and only one of them can be the best. When it comes to which one is overall the best sportsbook there are many factors to choose from. Does the sportsbook have live odds, betting calculators, good customer service, tight lines, etc.

With all of the above metrics brought together, we have made a shortlist of the top sportsbooks.

The Current Online Sports Betting Situation in New Jersey

We’re happy to report that sports betting is legal in New Jersey and there are 14 sports betting sites that are licensed to take online bets in the state.

NJ Sports Betting Sites

The following 16 operators are licensed to take legal bets in NJ:

• DraftKings Sportsbook
• FanDuel Sportsbook
• bet365
• Unibet
• PointsBet
• BetMGM Sportsbook
• Caesars Sportsbook
• SugarHouse Sportsbook
• Resorts Sportsbook
• 888Sport NJ
• Fox Bet
• Golden Nugget
• Hard Rock Casino
• BetAmerica
• theScore

With that many sites to choose from, it can be tough to know where to begin. Two factors that many people consider are withdrawal processing times and welcome bonus offers.

Find out more about which are currently the fastest payout sportsbooks and the best NJ sportsbook bonuses and promo codes available.

NJ Sports Betting Laws Summary

• New laws allow sports betting at casinos and racetracks in New Jersey.
• Online sports betting is allowed too but the sites must also operate a land-based venue for sports gambling.
• New sports betting websites have a 270-day grace period in which they can still operate online while building a land-based venue.
• Betting is allowed on all professional sports and most collegiate sports.
• Betting is not allowed on New Jersey collegiate teams or collegiate games happening in New Jersey.
• Betting is not allowed on high school sports.
• Sports betting revenue will be taxed at rates between 8.5 and 14.25 percent depending on whether it’s live or online, and at a casino or a racetrack.

Phil Murphy took over from Chris Christie as the 56th Governor of New Jersey. He had been in office for just five months when he signed the state-wide law legalizing sports betting in June 2018, barely a month after the Supreme Court decision.

Since then, casinos and racetracks operating in New Jersey have been able to offer sports wagering to bettors in New Jersey legally, both at their land-based establishments and through online sportsbooks sites.

In order for a casino or racetrack in New Jersey to offer online sports betting to people in New Jersey, they need to have a physical sportsbook where people can bet on games in person.

Casinos without a physical sportsbook in their establishment won’t miss out on early action, however; they get a maximum of 270 days to operate an online betting site while they build their physical sportsbook.

As a bonus, casinos, and racetracks can have up to three uniquely branded NJ sportsbooks online. Most will start with one, but the triple-license option will leave space for casinos to expand in the burgeoning online market.

To give you the idea of the kind of money we’re talking about, $2.9 million in revenue was collected through DraftKings’ online sportsbook in August of 2018 alone before the NFL season even got underway.

The current sports betting situation in New Jersey is outstanding if you love gambling on sports. There are tons of options for safe and secure places to make bets, both in land-based casinos and at online betting sites, and you can wager on almost any sport imaginable.

And since the sportsbooks and online casinos are regulated and licensed by the state of New Jersey, a lot of bettors feel much safer and more confident signing up for accounts and making real money deposits and bets. Find out more about how to bet in New Jersey in our guide on “How to Bet on Sports Online in New Jersey“.

The History of Online Sports Betting in NJ

Regulated sports betting in New Jersey didn’t happen overnight. Here’s a blow-by-blow legal history of how we got here.

2011 Referendum on Sports Betting

New Jersey has always been more permissive towards gambling than most other states so it’s fitting that they’ve been on the forefront of legal state-wide sports betting since 2011. As successful as New Jersey has been in that department, they had to overcome a number of challenges to get there.

In 1961, the Federal Wire Act made inter-state sports betting illegal in the USA. The idea was to fight organized crime. However, the result was a multibillion-dollar grey-area industry that operated through offshore sportsbooks.

With time, opinions on gambling softened and New Jersey was the first state (after Nevada) to legalize casinos, restricting them to Atlantic City for tourism. Sports betting wasn’t really considered until New Jersey wanted to help boost Atlantic City casinos out of an economic downturn in 2010.

In November 2011, more than 3 decades after the state conducted a referendum on legal casino gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey conducted another gambling-related referendum, this time on the legalization of sports betting in-state. The result was clear: New Jersey residents wanted the freedom to bet on their favorite games.

Poll Results:

• 91% of voters were in favor of legalized sports betting.
• 09% of voters were against it.

Once the results were in, Senator Raymond Lesniak and Jeff Van Drew penned the Sports Wagering Act which was approved and signed by Gov. Chris Christie that following January. But the legislation was ultimately short-lived.

Find out more on “How to Gamble in New Jersey if You Are From New York“.

Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA):

In 2012, Governor Christie was sued by several professional and amateur sports leagues, who claimed the new law was in direct violation of the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act created in 1992.

• The Act aimed to protect the integrity of sports by making sports betting illegal in the USA, with the exception of Nevada sportsbooks, and sports lotteries that were already operating in three states.
• A clause was included to permit licensed casinos to pass laws for sports betting up to one year after the Act was put in place—something New Jersey failed to do.

The sports leagues suing Christie included the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, and NCAA, all of whom won the case collectively in front of the District Court. But Christie wasn’t about to accept the ruling and back down; he filed an appeal in 2013 through the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Unfortunately for Christie, the ruling came out the same.

2018 Supreme Court Decision

Five years later, the US Supreme Court accepted the case Christie vs. NCAA (later renamed Murphy vs. NCAA when Phil Murphy took over as governor) and in May 2018, Justice Samuel Alito declared that the justices ruled in favor of New Jersey.

Justice Alito concluded that restricting sports betting was unconstitutional. The federal government could choose to regulate it, but if they didn’t, they couldn’t order states to ban it.

The Supreme Court voted 6-3 to eliminate PASPA, giving states the power to regulate or ban sports betting as they see fit.

Following the ruling, Murphy signed the sports wagering bill and soon after, New Jersey casinos and racetracks began offering sports betting to patrons.

Like we mentioned before, one of the rules was that in order to run an online sportsbook, the business must have a brick-and-mortar casino or racetrack. These establishments were free to enter the online sports betting market, with up to three licenses available for three uniquely branded online sportsbooks.

At the start of the 2018-19 NFL season, there were over eight online sportsbooks up and running in the state of New Jersey—mainly through casino apps and web domains. More will be unrolled as the season progresses.

Which NJ Online Sports Betting Sites and Apps Are Legal in the State?

In order for an online sportsbook to be legal in New Jersey, it must have a brick and mortar gambling establishment—be it a casino or horse racing track. A company cannot exclusively operate online sports betting business in New Jersey. For that reason, all offshore sportsbooks remain illegal in New Jersey and can be detected by unconventional URL endings such as .eu.

When legalization kicked off, casinos rushed at the chance to get in the game early. Having prepared the infrastructure to accommodate legal sports betting long before it happened, Monmouth Park was the first place to open to bettors in New Jersey, with Gov. Phil Murphy placing the first bet.

The below New Jersey sportsbooks are already taking bets 100% legally.

Click on any individual NJ online sportsbook or sportsbook mobile app to read an expert review of it and get more information, including any bonus codes/promo codes you may need to enter to benefit from a deposit bonus, or even a potential no-deposit bonus and risk-free bet.

All these betting sites are affiliated with the physical casino or racetrack in brackets and are based in New Jersey, ensuring a safe and secure betting experience for the public.

Hard Rock Atlantic City is also expected to start accepting sports bets online in New Jersey in the early months of 2019.

To deter competition from illegal betting sites, any sportsbook that is opened without the necessary license risks being fined up to $25,000 for an individual, and $100,000 for a business or partnership.

The Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of the State of New Jersey maintains a list of websites with a license to operate in the state.

With so many sportsbooks competing to get you to sign on to their platforms there is now a large amount of risk-free betting offers for signing up on their platform. With that in mind check out our risk-free betting guide to compare and find the best offer in your state.

If you are looking to bet on the go, check out our best mobile sports betting apps guide to find the best sportsbook app in NJ.

Some sports bettors in states that do not allow sports betting have been using VPNs to fool sportsbooks into thinking they are placing bets from states with legal sports betting. Sportsbooks are now using GeoComply Apps to catch location fraudsters.

NJ Sports Betting Websites’ Land-Based Partners – Locations

The map below shows the location of the land-based partners of each online sportsbook licensed in New Jersey:

For a full list of New Jersey retail sportsbooks, check out our NJ sportsbook locations guide. For more information on NJ casinos, check out our Ultimate Guide to Atlantic City Casinos.

New Jersey Sportsbook Sponsorships

Ever since sports betting became legal in New Jersey, licensed sportsbooks and casinos have sought to close sponsorship deals with individuals, sports teams and leagues.

New Jersey sports teams are reaping the benefits of belonging to the US state with the most sophisticated legal sports betting market.

The NHL team New Jersey Devils alone boast 3 sponsorship deals, with Caesars, and FanDuel. These deals include a branded lounge area and advertisement exposure.

The New York Jets, who reside in New Jersey, have had a sponsorship deal with 888casino.

Below you can see a full list of sponsorship deals signed by New Jersey sportsbooks and casinos.

League Partnerships

Team Partnerships

In addition to the above teams, there are many sports teams that have signed deals with DraftKings to promote their daily fantasy sports (DFS) product. However, the DraftKings Sportsbook product is excluded from the scope of those deals.

What Sports Can You Bet on Online?

Almost all sports are available for betting in New Jersey, including major leagues like MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL. For the most part, college sports like NCAA are available too, but there are some exceptions. High school sports can’t be bet on at all, and you can’t you bet on a college game happening in New Jersey.

Nor can you bet on college games taking place outside of New Jersey that involve New Jersey teams. That means it’s not possible to bet on the Monmouth-New Jersey Hawks or the New Jersey Tech Highlanders.

Betting markets in New Jersey aren’t restricted to mainstream sporting events either. Small market sports like CFL and NASCAR as well as non-traditional sports like eSports are all available for betting in New Jersey. You just have to find the right sportsbook app to get the best options.

To give you an idea of what’s available, check out the following sports offered by DraftKings Sportsbook, which offers spread betting, live betting, moneyline betting, futures, parlay bets, teasers, prop bets, and more:

• NFL
• NBA
• MLB
• Golf
• NHL
• NASCAR
• MMA
• Soccer
• CFL
• CFB
• LOL (League of Legends eSports)
• EL (Euro League Fantasy Basketball)
• Tennis

We should also mention that it is possible to bet on fantasy sports in the state of New Jersey, where the most obvious choice is FanDuel, a sportsbook specializing in fantasy sports.

When it comes to major events from the world of sports, you can bet on all the usual suspects, including March Madness, the NFL Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, and many more.

If you’re only just starting out and would like to learn more about sports betting, we encourage you to read our sports betting guide.

NJ Sports Betting Revenue

Total sports betting revenue in New Jersey for 2019 was $299.4m.

When it comes to the online vs. offline split, data is available for the total amount wagered by players, which stood at $3.84bn for online and $747.4m for offline.

There is a clear preference in favor of betting via the internet.

In terms of revenue per operator, Meadowlands and its partners FanDuel and PointsBet (known for its unique method of wagering it calls ‘Points Betting’) were number 1 in the market, with revenue totaling $149.9m in 2019.

Second place was occupied by Resorts Digital, which raked in $79.6m in revenue together with its partners DraftKings and Fox Bet.

What Is the Future of Online Sports Betting in the Garden State?

When sports betting was first officially legalized in New Jersey, the state didn’t have all the necessary provisions to regulate it. That didn’t slow them down though.

Not wanting to miss out on early action, New Jersey lawmakers put into place many temporary procedures, just to get things going in time for NFL kick-off. For example, casinos and racetracks have a grace period of 270 days to operate an online sportsbook while building their physical one. As time goes on, the licensing and permitting processes will be streamlined, and fewer exceptions will be made.

Upon legalization, the first two options available to people wanting to wager on a game was to do it:

• Online through a legal sportsbook.
• At a counter in the casino or racetrack’s brick-and-mortar sportsbook.

A third addition will be through sports betting kiosks at land-based casinos and racetracks. This will provide the public with the opportunity to bet without having to wait in line at a counter.

That being said, the convenience of a kiosk can’t compete with the convenience of mobile betting. The ideal sports betting scenario will allow sports fans to find their seat at a venue, sit down, and bet on their team through an iOS or Android app. Monitors could always be used to accommodate this, but providing the public with free access to WiFi is a cheaper and easier option.

Advances in live betting make this prospect even more exciting. Live betting is when you make wagers on the fly as the game plays out and includes traditional bets like money lines and spreads as well as more exciting proposition bets like who will score the next point.

New Jersey Leading Charge for New Era of US Sports Betting

Sports betting in New Jersey is the first step towards a more engaging and comprehensive spectating experience for American sports fans who’ve been kept in the dark ages for far too long.

Europe is a great example of how well a sports gambling industry can be. For hundreds of years, Europeans have been betting on sports teams in a regulated industry that generates over $100 billion each year. America still has some ways to go before it can compete with Europe in terms of sports betting options, but it’s certainly heading in the right direction.

In the wake of the 2018 SCOTUS decision, New Jersey was poised to be the first into the pool and thanks to the state’s hard-fought battle, residents and visitors to New Jersey can now enjoy totally legal, safe, and regulated sports betting both online and at land-based casinos and sportsbooks.

New Jersey has also done Americans in other states a big favor. First off, they put in an incredible amount of work to get the Supreme Court decision. Second, New Jersey’s laws, regulations, and infrastructure will act as a blueprint for other states that want to follow in its footsteps.

Other States Offering Legal Sports Betting

• Indiana Sports Betting 
• Iowa Sports Betting 
• Illinois Sports Betting 
• Pennsylvania Sports Betting 
• West Virginia Sports Betting 
• Colorado Sports Betting 
• Nevada Sports Betting
• Tennessee Sports Betting

New Jersey Sports Betting FAQs

Here are answers to the New Jersey sports betting questions we’re asked most frequently:

References

• New Jersey Division of Gambling Enforcement (DGE)
• Gambling in New Jersey (Wikipedia)
• State of New Jersey Casino Control Commission
• New Jersey Sports Wagering Law, P.L. 2018, c. 33
• Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (Supreme Court Opinion)
• National Center for Responsible Gambling