Is Sports Betting Legal in New Jersey?

In-State College Betting Is Off Limits

This is the rule that surprises newcomers most. State law defines a “prohibited sports event” as any college game played in New Jersey, no matter who is playing, and any event involving a New Jersey college team, no matter where it is held. That means no wagers on Rutgers or Seton Hall, and no bets on an out-of-state matchup that happens to be played at a New Jersey venue. There is a narrow exception: in a multi-game college tournament, the other games are still bettable, and a tournament held outside New Jersey remains bettable even if a New Jersey team is involved. New Jersey voters had a chance to lift this restriction in a November 2021 referendum and rejected it, with roughly 57% opposed. Professional sports and out-of-state college games are otherwise fully available.

Age, Location and Residency

You must be 21 or older to bet on sports, online or in person. You must be physically inside New Jersey when you place a wager, which sportsbook apps confirm through geolocation; if you bet on a desktop, you will install a small geolocation plug-in. There is no residency requirement, so visitors can bet freely as long as they are within state lines. You can register for an account and make deposits from anywhere, even out of state, and you can still log in to check odds or request a cashout when you travel; you simply cannot place a bet until you are back inside New Jersey. For comparison, you only need to be 18 to bet on horse racing, play the lottery or enter daily fantasy contests.

Other Prohibited Wagers and Restricted Bettors

Betting on high school sports, or on any event where most participants are under 18, is prohibited. New Jersey also does not allow wagering on political elections, though it has at times permitted bets on awards shows such as the Oscars and Emmys. People affiliated with a team or sport, including anyone who owns a significant stake in a team or governing body, are barred from wagering on the sports they are connected to, and certain key casino and industry employees cannot open accounts at all.

What You Can Bet On

The menu is about as broad as it gets. All major professional leagues are available, including the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, along with soccer from around the world, golf, tennis, motorsports, MMA, boxing and a long list of niche events. New Jersey is also one of the more permissive states for esports; it formally legalized esports wagering in 2021 and was the first state to license an operator dedicated solely to esports. Live, in-play betting, player props, same-game parlays, futures, odds boosts and even exchange-style wagering are all on the table.

Funding Your Account and Credit Cards

New Jersey has not enacted a statewide ban on credit-card deposits, though lawmakers have introduced bills that would. In practice, the question is increasingly moot: FanDuel and DraftKings, which together make up most of the market, voluntarily stopped accepting credit cards in 2025 and 2026. Most New Jersey sportsbooks support debit cards, online banking, PayPal, Venmo and eCheck, so funding an account remains simple regardless.

Player Protections

The DGE requires every licensed book to offer responsible-gambling tools, including deposit, loss and time limits and cool-off periods, and it runs a formal self-exclusion program. Operators must keep player funds in segregated accounts, process withdrawals promptly, and use security measures such as periodic multi-factor authentication. The DGE has stepped in before to protect bettors, including issuing guidance that stopped operators from pressuring customers to reverse withdrawal requests. These protections are a core reason to bet with a licensed New Jersey book rather than an unregulated alternative.

The story begins in November 2011, when New Jersey voters approved a state constitutional amendment to allow sports wagering. In January 2012, Gov. Chris Christie signed the Sports Wagering Act, authorizing betting at the state’s casinos and racetracks.

The major professional leagues and the NCAA promptly sued to block the law under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, the 1992 federal statute known as PASPA that effectively confined legal sports betting to Nevada. New Jersey lost in district court and on appeal, in the cases known as Christie I. The state tried again in 2014 with a law that repealed its own prohibitions rather than directly authorizing betting, and the leagues sued again, leading to Christie II. New Jersey lost those rounds in the lower courts too.

Then the state took the fight to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case in June 2017. In Murphy v. NCAA, decided in May 2018, the Court ruled that PASPA violated the Tenth Amendment’s anti-commandeering doctrine by ordering states what they could and could not legalize. PASPA fell, and with it the federal barrier to sports betting everywhere. Gov. Phil Murphy signed New Jersey’s regulatory bill, Assembly Bill 4111, into law in June 2018; retail betting launched within days and online betting that August. Dozens of states have since followed the path New Jersey cleared — you can see who joined them on our states with legal sports betting hub.

BetMGM Sportsbook & Bar at Borgata

The Borgata is one of Atlantic City’s marquee properties, and the BetMGM Sportsbook & Bar matches its reputation. Expect a lively, full-service space with strong food and drink, walls of screens and the MGM Rewards tie-in that frequent visitors value. As the flagship retail BetMGM experience in the state, and attached to arguably the most prestigious casino in town, it is the spot many bettors head to first.

Hard Rock Bet at Hard Rock Atlantic City

Hard Rock’s boardwalk casino pairs its sportsbook with the brand’s signature music-and-entertainment atmosphere, making it one of the more energetic places to watch and wager in the city. The book is well laid out and bet365 also operates here, which gives the property real betting depth and two strong brands under one roof.

Fanatics Sportsbook at Ocean Casino

Ocean Casino’s sportsbook, branded as The Gallery Bar, Book & Games, runs roughly 7,500 square feet with a video wall, more than 30 screens and a comfortable layout. Ocean is one of the more modern resorts on the boardwalk, with sweeping ocean views, and the book reflects that contemporary feel.

Caesars Sportsbook at Caesars Atlantic City

Caesars has the most commanding retail footprint in Atlantic City, with books at Caesars, Harrah’s and the Tropicana. The flagship at Caesars Atlantic City brings the brand’s strong loyalty program and heavy daily odds boosts into a classic boardwalk casino setting. If you value Caesars Rewards, this is your hub.

Golden Nugget Sportsbook

The Golden Nugget sits in the marina district rather than on the boardwalk, alongside the Borgata, and runs its own branded sportsbook simply called The Sportsbook. It is a solid, comfortable choice for bettors who prefer that quieter side of the city away from the boardwalk crowds, and it rounds out a deep set of Atlantic City options.

FanDuel Sportsbook at the Meadowlands

Located in East Rutherford near MetLife Stadium and the New York City metro, the FanDuel Sportsbook at the Meadowlands Racetrack is the busiest retail book in New Jersey. Its roughly 6,800-square-foot space packs in dozens of screens, a long row of betting windows, self-service kiosks and the Victory Sports Bar, making it a genuine game-day destination. Its proximity to New York, which has far higher taxes and once had no mobile betting at all, has historically drawn enormous crowds for marquee events.

Caesars Sportsbook at Monmouth Park

Monmouth Park in Oceanport holds a special place in this story; it was central to New Jersey’s legal fight and hosted some of the earliest legal betting in the state. At around 15,000 square feet, the Caesars Sportsbook there is the largest retail venue in New Jersey, with a Race & Sports Bar, a video wall and a long bank of betting windows. For horse-racing fans in particular, it is the destination.

Bovada, the largest and most recognizable offshore brand in the country, is the clearest example. New Jersey was one of the very first states to force Bovada out, and the site no longer accepts players located here; anyone in New Jersey who tries to register is blocked. Other offshore books, including BetOnline, have either left or operate without any state approval.

The takeaway for New Jersey bettors is simple: there is no reason to use an offshore site. They are unavailable or unauthorized, they offer zero regulatory protection, and the legal market already provides more operators, better apps and real recourse if something goes wrong. Before signing up anywhere, look for the DGE seal and stick with the licensed books listed above. If you are comparing legal options, our guides to sportsbook bonuses and fastest payouts are a better use of your time.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily fantasy sports are legal and popular in New Jersey, which began formally regulating the industry in 2017. The law set a minimum age of 18, required operators to segregate player funds and barred employees from playing. Major brands including DraftKings, FanDuel, Underdog and PrizePicks all serve New Jersey players, offering season-long and pick’em-style contests alongside the traditional sportsbooks.

Prediction Markets

Federally regulated prediction markets, where users trade yes-or-no contracts on event outcomes, have become a contested space in New Jersey. The DGE issued cease-and-desist orders to operators such as Kalshi and Robinhood in 2025, arguing their sports contracts amounted to unauthorized sports betting. Kalshi sued and won a preliminary injunction allowing it to keep operating while the case plays out. The legal picture here is genuinely unsettled, so treat these markets as a moving target rather than a settled option.

Horse Racing

Horse-racing betting is legal for bettors 18 and older, both in person and online. The Meadowlands and Monmouth Park anchor live racing, with additional off-track and advance-deposit options such as 4NJBets. The New Jersey Racing Commission oversees pari-mutuel and fixed-odds horse wagering, and the state’s racing industry remains one of the healthiest in the country.

Online Casinos and Poker

New Jersey was an online-gambling pioneer well before sports betting, legalizing internet casinos and poker back in 2013. Today the state hosts dozens of licensed online casinos and poker rooms, and online-casino revenue consistently outpaces sports betting. Many sportsbook apps include an integrated casino on the same account.

The headline 19.75% rate that gets media attention is the tax operators pay on their gaming revenue; it does not come out of your individual winning bets. Retail wagering revenue is taxed at a lower 8.5%. What matters for you as a bettor is income tax.

New Jersey treats gambling winnings as taxable income, and so does the IRS. Large wins can trigger a Form W-2G and federal withholding, and you are responsible for reporting gambling income on both your federal and state returns whether or not anything was withheld up front. Licensed New Jersey books make this easier by providing tax documentation and clear account records.