Legal online sports betting is now a reality in New Jersey, as DraftKings officially launched its mobile sports betting app on Monday following approval from state regulators.
The release of the app to the general public comes after a soft launch period that began on Aug. 1.
First Mover Advantage
The launch makes DraftKings and their partner Resorts Casino Hotel the first operators in the state to offer mobile wagering.
“Everything went really, really smoothly, and we’re excited to be able to launch to every customer who is currently in New Jersey starting today,” DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish told the Press of Atlantic City.
Being first to market in the online sector was major goal for DraftKings. While the company has yet to set up a live sportsbook at Resorts Atlantic City – one is planned for the near future – they are well ahead of the pack when it comes to mobile offerings, as no other firm has announced a launch date for online betting.
According to CEO Jason Robins, DraftKings is proud of their new offering, one they hope will offer an innovative experience for gamblers.
“We have put immense thought and significant resources behind the development of DraftKings sportsbook,” Robins said in a press release. “I’m confident that sports fans in New Jersey will enjoy using it to make the experience of watching the games even more interesting and thrilling.”
In-Play, Live-Ticket Betting
In most respects, the app seemed to meet expectations for the industry. A wide variety of sports were already available for betting, and there were numerous markets on each game, including prop bets and in-play betting.
The mobile sportsbook also uses a live-ticket system, allowing bettors to cash out from their bets at any time. As odds change throughout a competition, players will be able to settle their bets whenever they like. While settling bets isn’t unheard of in the sports betting industry, the ability to do it at any time could be quite popular with gamblers who want to lock in profits or cut their losses before a result is guaranteed.
Many media reports have noted that bettors were disappointed in the amount of juice on baseball lines: rather than the standard 10 to 20 cent spread on money line bets, the DraftKings app was offering games with a spread of 30 cents or more between the favorite and underdog prices.
Kalish told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the complaints were valid, and it appears as though line pricing has improved in the days since the soft launch began.
The biggest question now is just how long DraftKings will have the mobile market to themselves. It’s all but a certainty that every operator in the state will want to get a piece of the online betting pie, and several others – including the Borgata and Caesars – are hoping to have their mobile sportsbook apps up and running before the NFL season begins in early September.