New Jersey to Start Offering Daily Fantasy Sports in July

New Jersey may have to wait a while before the U.S. Supreme Court decides on whether it will be permitted to offer sports betting within the state, but in the meantime one of Atlantic City’s casinos has decided to launch a gambling expansion of its own by allowing daily fantasy sports betting for real money.
Becoming the first gambling venue to offer DFS in New Jersey is the Resorts Casino Hotel, whose online arm Resorts Digital Gaming will start offering the service this month through its website called FastPick.com. As a result, players can now look forward to competing online against fantasy sports lineups chosen by the casino from the NFL, NBA, MLB and English Soccer Premier League, with wagers starting as low as $5, but with a maximum payout of $100,000 up for grabs. The product will also eventually become available inside the Resorts itself through kiosks located on the casino floor.
As well providing a means of attracting a younger audience to its casino, FastPick.com is also hoping to appeal to recreational players, with its tag line reading “DFS games without the sharks”. Elaborating further, Ed Andrewes from Resorts Digital Gaming, stated:
“We want to appeal to sports fans who want to get a piece of the action but don’t have the time to compete effectively against the traditional “professional” DFS players.”
Resorts President Mark Giannantonio has also expressed his enthusiasm for the innovative development, and has explained that the move fits well with the casino’s plan to integrate as much as possible its land-based venue with its online business. B2B daily fantasy sports firm SportAD is also part of the collaboration, and as the company’s CEO, Joe Brennan Jr., explains:
“We are very excited about this launch with Resorts Gaming, which has a reputation of bringing innovative gaming content to market in both their casino and online. With plenty of MLB baseball right now, and the NFL football and European Soccer seasons about to start, the “FastPick” brand is in a strong position to capitalise on the daily fantasy sports market and attract players looking for a more fun and simple way to enjoy real-money sports games.”
The Resorts Casino Hotel generated online revenue of $3.68 million in June, and while this places it behind the Borgata, Caesars and the Golden Nugget, being the first to offer DFS betting online will surely help it to narrow the gap on its competitors.