New Jersey legislature moves to clear way for fixed-odds betting

Lawmakers in both houses of the New Jersey legislature have introduced bills that would formally authorize fixed-odds wagering on horse races, according to racing officials in the state.

The bills would clear up a gray legal matter in New Jersey, where fixed-odds betting on sports was legalized in 2018 following a Supreme Court ruling that gave states the power to authorize the practice, said Dennis Drazin, the president of the company that operates Monmouth Park and a sportsbook on the track property.

“We want to get some clarity on the issue,” Drazin said. “There’s a question out there whether [fixed-odds] betting is a horse race bet or a sports bet.”

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Monmouth Park offered fixed-odds bets on horses in both 2018 and 2019, but since the start of the year, the state’s attorney general has been conducting a review of the legality of the practice, according to Drazin. Monmouth did not offer fixed-odds bets on horse races this year because of the inquiry, Drazin said.

The legislation is being introduced just months after a leading gambling company pulled the plug on the country’s only horse-racing exchange-wagering platform, which was run by a subsidiary of the company that owns TVG. The platform, which allowed New Jersey customers to take bets from other customers on horse races, failed to draw enough customers to make the platform profitable, according to officials of the company.

Monmouth has a 10-year exclusive contract with an Australian company, BetMakers, to manage its fixed-odds horseracing business. The deal was signed early in 2020.

Many horseplayers have said that they would welcome fixed-odds betting on horseracing, as a potential alternative to playing in the parimutuel pools, where odds can fluctuate wildly prior to post time.

Under the bill, fixed-odds betting would likely only be available to New Jersey residents. Last week, the New Jersey legislature passed a bill that would allow New Jersey residents to use their betting accounts when travelling outside of the state.