888 switches on Online Sports Betting in New Jersey

After a successful launch of 888casino and 888poker, 888 Holdings have hit the go switch on its first legal online betting website, 888sport.com, in the Garden State of New Jersey. The website, product of 888’s relationship with the software provider Kambi, can be enjoyed by players on mobile, tablet and desktop devices. While the platform provides online betting on 15 different sports, it lets you use 888poker and 888casino with the same log-in and in the same money pot. Pretty neat!

The timing of the launch could not be better as coincides with the start of the new NFL season and the website allows its users to already put in bets for the upcoming matches. The Garden State is leading the national sports betting charge with six online operators under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), passed earlier this year in May which grants individual states the right to legalize sports betting.

888 Holdings CEO Itai Frieberger said, “The launch of 888sport.com in New Jersey is a major milestone for the company in our ongoing expansion across the regulated US online gaming market and provides 888 with a unique and truly multi-product proposition in what is currently the largest regulated US state.”

He also said, “888 has been committed to developing its position in the US since launching in Nevada, the first regulated US state, nearly six years ago and today we are the only operator with a presence in all three regulated US states. We now have our sport, casino and poker products all operational in the US and are continually developing our proposition, brands and technology to ensure that the group remains exceptionally well positioned to capture the potentially significant future growth opportunities as new regulation allows.”

While a host of new betting options is great news for customers, the knock-on effects could help the state’s poker economy. According to a latest finance press release, New Jersey saw a fall in online poker revenue by 7.9 % to $1.84 million (INR 13.20 Cr.) and in contingent to that, the year-to-date total for New Jersey’s online poker operators had fallen to by 11%. A liquidity sharing pact with Nevada and Delaware got underway in May and although the initiative is still in its infancy, the current flow of traffic has seen the Garden State enjoy less of a boost that its partners. Sports betting could succeed where liquidity has failed to generate any immediate interest.

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