Murphy traveled to Atlantic City to place bets at Borgata after placing the first bet at Monmouth Parkgetty images
Sports betting in New Jersey "officially kicked off Thursday morning with Gov. Phil Murphy casting the first wager at a ceremony at Monmouth Park racetrack," while Basketball HOFer Julius Erving placed the first wager at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City later in the morning, according to a front-page piece by Brent Johnson of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. Murphy "traveled to Atlantic City later in the day and placed two more bets at the Borgata." Monmouth Park operator Dennis Drazin said, "It's a euphoric day. I always knew we'd get here. Every time we had a defeat, we found another angle." State officials predict about $13M in "tax revenue the first year." Betting will be "available online within 30 days" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 6/15). Monmouth Park officials "estimated nearly 1,000 patrons placed bets" on Thursday (NJ.com, 6/15). In N.Y., Corasaniti & Rojas note the "seemingly endless queue" surprised even William Hill U.S. CEO Joe Asher, whose betting operation has partnered with Monmouth. Asher: "This is the slow time on the sporting calendar. It’s basically baseball, a little bit of golf, and Russia vs. Saudi Arabia in soccer. I mean, really? Can you imagine what this is going to be like opening weekend of the NFL season or when you got Giants Eagles?" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/15). In New Jersey, Steve Politi writes at Monmouth, it was "clear that people were ready and waiting -- and ready to wait" in lines to place bets. However, within a "couple hours, the crowd started to thin out a bit" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 6/15). ESPN.com's Darren Rovell wrote New Jersey is "expected to be a big betting state." Asher said that, at maturity, he "expects the state to handle roughly" $10B in bets (ESPN.com, 6/14).
CYBER CASINOS: In N.Y., Evan Grossman writes while the buzz in New Jersey on Thursday "centered on the state’s first brick-and-mortar sports book, online wagering is expected to be the more popular option." Daily fantasy sports companies like FanDuel and DraftKings have been "positioning themselves to be major players in online sports betting." FanDuel, along with BetFair, will "operate the future sportsbook at the Meadowlands and DraftKings announced a deal with Resorts casino in Atlantic City" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/15).
NEW YORK FALLING BEHIND? New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said that a measure to legalize sports wagering is "on life support in the Legislature," as there "appears not to be enough support [for] Assembly Democrats who control the chamber to pass the legislation." In Buffalo, Tom Precious notes pro leagues, casino interests, racetracks, off-track betting companies and off-shore betting companies are "all engaged in a furious lobbying push to get sports wagering legalized" in New York. Bills pending in the Assembly and Senate "would permit sports wagering at four commercial casinos, at kiosks at racetrack-based casino operations, as well as via online platforms" (BUFFALO NEWS, 6/15). In N.Y., Daniel Wallach writes under the header, "New York Should Pass A Sports-Betting Law Immediately." The state "shouldn’t get left behind." State legislators in '13 "moved to enact a sports-betting law that would’ve allowed the four Upstate casinos to take sports bets as soon as the federal law was overturned." But that law -- which was "viewed as a placeholder -- is in desperate need of an upgrade if New York is to compete." But with only "days before lawmakers recess for the summer, prospects for a bill are grim." That would be "huge mistake" (N.Y. POST, 6/15).
GOOD FOR THE GAME: Bruin Sports Capital CEO George Pyne said legal sports betting is “going to be good for sports." Pyne: "You're 19 times more likely to watch a game if you've bet on the game. It's going to further connect yourself with avid fans. The leagues will figure out how to get in the revenue stream and the other big interesting part here is big data, having the data of who’s your most avid fan is going to be able to allow you to monetize them in a lot of ways” (“Squawk Box,” CNBC, 6/15).
