Sports Betting Kicks off At Hard Rock AC

Exactly seven months after the grand opening of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the venue has begun offering online sports betting services – one week prior to the Super Bowl.

The operator received its approval from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement on Friday, January 25th enabling it to commence the so-called “soft play” or testing the equipment before the initial kick-off.

Formal Announcement Pending

The newly appointed casino president, Joe Lupo, said that the resort will publish an official statement about in-person sports betting, hoping the sportsbook will be available before the Super Bowl on February 3rd, 2019.

Also, it is quite possible that the Atlantic City casino will be the last to join the “sports book race” making it the eighth operator to commence this type of wagering in the state. Caesars Entertainment still hasn’t launched a sportsbook, although the property’s neighboring outlet, Bally’s, offers full-scale betting on major leagues and international competitions.

To date, more than $1.24 billion has been cashed in on various sporting events across New Jersey, and Hard Rock International recently won a tax case against the Atlantic City government. The authorities will have to pay out $4.8 million in the next four years to the operator. Dennis Levinson, Atlantic county executive, commented about the case:

“We were told this was totally, completely settled. They can do whatever they want right now, as long as the cost is not passed along to county taxpayers.”

Lisa M. Ryan, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Community Affairs, replied:

“Because of the timing of Hard Rock’s purchase of the and the work that needed to be done to get the casino into the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes agreement for casinos), the 2017 appeal was not able to be included in the $80 million bond ordinance the city approved in August 2017 to fund other property-tax appeals.”

Hard Rock Extends Offerings

Apart from launching with NetEnt in April 2018, Hard Rock International has also entered into other supply agreements during the same year, including a deal with GiG (Gaming Innovation Group) and Kindred.

The company has also rearranged its hierarchy by appointing new executives and it also revealed further expansion strategies – plans for transforming Virgin Casino Hotel and construction details of future Japan resort.

In the meantime, it is important to mention that New Jersey represents one of the most “aggressive” states when it comes to taking advantage of the overturn of PASPA, which happened back in May 2018.

To clarify, on-site sports wagering cash flow amounted $466.68 million in handle, whilst online betting produced proceeds of $780.1 million.

In July 2018, Hard Rock made it official that the Hotel Dublin is in the works, stating that 2020 is the projected year of opening.

Source:

“Hard Rock casino testing online sports betting in New Jersey”, Wayne Parry, bostonherald.com, January 27, 2019.