New Jersey governor signs bill enabling fixed-odds wagering

Fixed-odds wagering on horse racing is belatedly set to start in New Jersey in the “coming weeks” after Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation on Thursday that authorizes the practice, according to Monmouth Park, the Oceanport track that pushed for the bill.

Murphy signed the legislation six weeks after the bill was passed in both houses of the state legislature. The bill formalizes a type of betting that Monmouth offered during its 2018 and 2019 meets under a pilot program, and Monmouth said in a statement on Thursday that the track expects to begin offering fixed-odds betting on its races after “regulatory approval” of the rules governing the practice from state agencies.

Earlier this year, Monmouth signed a 10-year agreement with BetMakers, an Australian firm, to run its fixed-odds business. The track expects to offer win, place, and show betting on its own races when the practice is available, with a minimum wager of $1. New Jersey bettors will be able to place fixed-odds bets on-track and through account-wagering services.

Fixed-odds betting allows players to lock in prices on horses at the time the bet is made, in contrast to pari-mutuel wagering, a system in which the final odds are not set until betting is closed. Fixed-odds betting is popular in many countries where the practice is allowed.

The delay in signing the legislation was due to a backlog of bills that were passed in the waning days of the legislative session, along with the need to consider several regulatory questions, such as how scratches will be treated, according to officials. The regulations are set to be considered soon by the New Jersey Racing Commission and the Division of Gaming Enforcement.