Canadian-based sports media giant theScore is set to launch an online New Jersey Sportsbook in mid-2019.
Already well known by US punters as having a mobile app that enables Smartphone users to keep track of whether they are winning or losing their latest bets, theScore announced this week that it will now be launching a mobile sportsbook in New Jersey via an official licensing partnership with Darby Development LLC.
Derby is the company that runs famed Monmouth Park Racetrack together with the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NJTHA).
In its media release, theScore said that its agreement with Darby and the NJTHA would enable it to offer online and mobile betting within the state-lines of New Jersey, subject to it obtaining the necessary approval of the NJ authorities.
“This is a significant moment for theScore, becoming the first media company in North America to announce plans to launch online and mobile sports betting in the United States,” John Levy, Founder and CEO of theScore was quoted as saying in the media release.
“Sports betting has long been part of our company DNA in how we’ve delivered content to fans. Providing the ability to actually bet on games is the natural next phase for theScore.”
Darby CEO Dennis Drazin, whose company together with Monmouth’s NJTHA helped provide funding and legal impetus to the seven-year court battle that earlier this year saw the Supreme Court rule that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) was unconstitutional and that the states were now at liberty to decide for themselves whether or not to legalize sports wagering, says of the new development, “theScore has one of the leading sports apps in North America, a world-class reputation for mobile sports development and a large and highly-engaged audience.”
According to Darby, theScore would receive an unspecified percentage of the revenue from its operation of the new sportsbook, subject to certain annual minimum guaranteed amounts and applicable upfront and renewal fees.
The agreement has an initial term of five years, which is extendable for two successive five-year terms at the option of theScore.
TheScore says it will use Bet.Works (US) LLC, to provide the sports betting platform for its online and mobile apps.
David Wang, Founder and CEO of Bet.Works, a US gaming and sportsbook software provider, said his company is “extremely excited about working with theScore”.
“They have a huge audience and one of the most comprehensive sports apps on the market, providing the connective tissue between hardcore sports fans and the teams they love.
“We are confident the Bet.Works team can help theScore go to the forefront of mobile sports betting in New Jersey and beyond.”
At the present time eight online sportsbooks have began operating in New Jersey in the five or six or months since the PAPSPA law was repealed and the Garden State became the first of those previously prohibited from sports gambling to take advantage of the Supreme Court decision to legalize it.
The sportsbooks in question are DraftKings, FanDuel, Sugarhouse, BetStars, 888sports, William Hill, MGM and Caesars.
