Have you ever considered what New Jersey has in common with Australia? You could be forgiven for thinking that perhaps it’s a link between the Jersey Shore and Bondi Beach lifestyles. While that is true, there is a link between both that is a massive part of the lifestyle of their inhabitants – gambling! Since 2018 a growing group of sportsbooks have been available in New Jersey. It’s a booming business but not yet close to the remarkable 95 betting sites Australia has to offer.
Atlantic City has always had New Jersey at the forefront of gambling. However, allowing online sportsbooks has furthered the state’s position as the pinnacle of the industry (sorry, Vegas!) anywhere in the United States.
Online Gambling
Online gambling is big business all over the world. The biggest sportsbook to have a share of the market in both locations is bet365. Many to be found in New Jersey are extensions of household-name casinos like MGM and Caesars. That safety net of betting with a known name is the same globally.
The NFL remains the most popular gambling medium in New Jersey. It might surprise that betting on the NFL is popular in Australia, but Jordan Mailata making the Super Bowl for the Philadelphia Eagles has helped the growth. The offensive tackle came from New South Wales and was the 233rd pick in the 2018 draft.
What other sports are popular in both New Jersey and Australia? A big pair forms a large part of the betting turnover.
Horse Racing
Australia has some of the finest horse racing tracks anywhere in the world. The Melbourne Cup meeting at Flemington in early November is colloquially known as the race that stops a nation. The Garden State enjoys action from Monmouth Park and The Meadowlands. Haskell Day in July may lack the worldwide prestige of a Melbourne Cup, but it’s a massive day for the state.
Backing horses online in New Jersey is not as easy as in Australia, but there are other sports, such as baseball, that both can enjoy getting a bet on before settling down to watch a game.
Baseball
With Australia making the quarter-final stage of the World Baseball Classic, the sport will become more popular than ever. There have already been some smart pitchers from Australia, including Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks. Of course, they will not produce a player of the same class that New Jersey has, but nowhere has produced a player as good as Mike Trout!
The Future
The world has become a smaller place with advances in communication technology. Sports and gambling go hand in hand, and with the industry’s continued growth worldwide, there is only one direction that it will go in, in the future.
There is a lot of growth to come in New Jersey regarding sportsbooks. America plays a massive part in the future strategy of many companies that are household names to sports betting fans worldwide. To reach the same volume as Australia will take some time, but there are too many
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
