Churchill Downs Inc. partners with New Jersey casino with eye on sports betting

Churchill Downs Inc., the publicly traded gambling company, has entered into a partnership with Golden Nugget Atlantic City, a New Jersey casino and online gambling website operator, in the wake of this week’s ruling by the Supreme Court affecting sports betting, the company’s announced on Wednesday.

The companies provided few details about the agreement in a release, but Churchill said in the announcement that it was targeting the first quarter of 2019 “to begin accepting legal wagers for [on-line gambling] and sports betting in New Jersey.”

The partnership will be subject to regulatory approvals in New Jersey and “sports wagering legislation,” indicating that the agreement may hinge on changes in gambling law or the sports-betting landscape.

On Monday, the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that prohibited states from authorizing sports betting. The law was challenged by the state of New Jersey, which had already passed laws permitting sports betting and had written regulations to govern the practice, making the state the only jurisdiction in the U.S. directly impacted by the Supreme Court ruling. Currently, sports betting in New Jersey is limited to licensed casinos and racetracks in the state, at their physical locations.

Churchill Downs operates a leading account-wagering company, Twinspires.com, that has thousands of active users who place horseracing bets through the service. According to marketing officials, many horseplayers share characteristics with sports bettors, and many already bet on sports through other channels.

Golden Nugget, which has a well-known brand in bricks-and-mortar casinos, operates an Atlantic City boardwalk property and an online casino in New Jersey. The state legalized limited online casino operations in 2013, restricting betting activity to in-state residents, like its sports betting law.

“We are looking forward to offering integrated [on-line gambling] and sports betting products in New Jersey,” said Bill Carstanjen, chief executive of Churchill Downs, in the release. “We have the unique opportunity to leverage our knowledge and experience operating the largest legal online horse racing wagering business in the U.S. as we enter the [on-line gambling] and sports betting markets.”

Since the Supreme Court ruling was announced, Churchill’s stock has jumped from approximately $280 a share to $306 a share at the close of trading Wednesday.