Draftkings Submit New Jersey License Application
Expansion into sports betting
Daily fantasy sports provider DraftKings has submitted its application for a sports betting license to New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE).
The application for the Casino Service Industry Enterprise License follows DraftKings’ partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel, a pre-requisite for market entry.
In support of its intentions, DraftKings has appointed Karl Gambin as Director of New Jersey Operations based at its new office in Hoboken where recruitment for a dozen additional positions is underway.
Gambin will lead DraftKings’ compliance, customer and regulatory activities in the state.
“The New Jersey DGE has been on the leading edge of creating a smart, consumer-focused sports betting framework in the Garden State,” Tim Dent, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer at DraftKings, said. “We are working with New Jersey officials toward a public rollout of a DraftKings sports betting product.”
Solid May For New Jersey Online Gambling
Second-highest gross revenue in industry history
New Jersey’s online gambling sector delivered a strong May 2018 with the second-highest gross revenue since its inception five years ago.
Gross revenues from the New Jersey online gambling sector came in at $24.3 million, up 5 percent from the previous month (April 2108: $23.02 million) and 15.3 percent year-on-year (May 2017: $21.07 million). New Jersey coffers were fattened by $4.3 million in taxes for the month.
Online casino revenue was up 18.1 percent year-on-year to just under $22.4 million, while online poker fell 9 percent to just over $1.9 million, but was up slightly from April 2018’s take..
For the year-to-date, total online gambling revenue overall is up 15.5 percent to over $116.8 million, with online casino up 19 percent to just under $107.5 million while poker is down 13.5 percent to just under $9.4 million.
Golden Nugget led the pack with a 45.4 percent increase year-on-year followed by Borgata with 31 percent and Caesars Interactive with 12.4 percent.
Initial New Jersey Sports Betting Regulations Published
Temporary move to get the show on the road
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has published temporary sports betting regulations that will enable operators to begin offering sports bets in the state today (Thursday). The regulations include:
- Sports betting licence fee is initially set at $100,000, but final regulations may see this increased once the regulator has a feel for enforcement, renewal and problem gambling impacts;
- Applicants are also required to pay an additional $250,000 to cover the DGE’s monitoring and regulatory set-up costs;
- Online sports betting revenue will be taxed at 13 percent, whilst land betting revenues will attract tax at 8.5 percent;
- Both land and online revenues will be subject to a further 1.25 percent tax dedicated to Atlantic City tourism and marketing;
- Racetracks will be taxed in similar fashion, but the 1.25 percent levy will go to the state general fuind or individual municipalities;
- Individual punters will not be permitted to gamble more than $5 million on any single sports event;
- Operators accepting lay-off bets from other operators are required to disclose the other operator’s identity to the book takiong the wager;
- The construction of a first class wagering lounge is mandatory for operators, and must measure at least a thousand sqaure feet within clearly defined borders, with clear problem gambling warnings;
- Such lounges may also offer slot and other action as authorised;
- Operators have a 270-day window to construct lounges, during which a temporary lounge will be permitted;
- Betting kiosks are permitted for licensed operators at locations approved by the regulator, and on condition that a maximum pay-out of $10,000 is imposed. These machines must also be restricted to just $3,000 in respect of redemptions;
- Each sports betting licence entitles the operator to accept action on three separately branded websites and three individually branded mobile apps;
- Online gambling companies that parftner with a land licensee are allowed to operate a single betting skin during the construction of the licensee’s lounge;
- Operators are required to have the necessary technology and controls that can identify and track unusual betting activity and report this to an “integrity monitoring provider”;
- Such integrity monitoring providers are required to share unusual betting information reports with all licensees, who then have an obligation to review their own controls and report any similar activity;