Bet365 is bringing its sports gambling platform to New Jersey this summer. To help facilitate wagers in the state, the U.K.-based operator has teamed up with EML Payments Ltd., a prepaid payment provider out of Australia, to offer prepaid cards to gamblers. The cards will allow bettors to quickly add funds to their online gambling accounts, as well as gain easy access to their winnings.
EML has similar partnerships with 12 other companies across the globe, in Australia, the U.K., Europe and the United States. It recently established a similar deal with PointsBet when that gambling operator moved into New Jersey.
The new partnership between EML and Bet365 still has to receive the blessing of regulators and, subject to that approval, the cards should be ready to be distributed by the middle of this year. If everything goes well and Bet365 decides to expand across the U.S., EML could travel with it, per the terms of the partnership agreement.
New Jersey has become the go-to state for new sportsbooks to set up shop in the U.S. It makes sense, given that it was one of the first to legalize sports gambling after the U.S. Supreme Court defeated PASPA, for which the country owes its gratitude to the state, as well. Since launching sportsbooks in June 2018, the Garden State has processed over $2 billion in wagers, most of which were placed digitally.
Bet365 is joining the state after a number of other sportsbooks have been opened, meaning that it has a lot of catching up to do. However, it has an international presence and experience that should go a long way to helping it secure a piece of the action and, with over $2 billion in bets processed, there’s a lot of action to go around.
The company is tied up with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City to offer the sportsbook. According to New Jersey’s sports gambling laws, sportsbooks can only be launched by operators who have an agreement with an existing casino or racetrack. That partnership clears the way for Bet365 to launch an online sportsbook branded under its own name, which helps keep the company in the spotlight on an international level.
