New regulations announced on Monday that will allow sports fans to compete in fantasy contests at New Jersey casinos will allow customers to participate online and they will not have to be residents of the state.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement had the regulations on its website Monday, March 18 and they become effective April 22.
Among the regulations was this comment.
“The conduct of a fantasy sports tournament shall not be considered ‘gaming’ or ‘gambling’ …”
Among the implications of that is that casinos will not be subject to the 8 percent gaming revenue tax that they pay on normal gambling revenue, such as for slot machines and table games.
Casinos will also be allowed to partner with third-party companies to provide fantasy games, so expect companies such as FanDuel to forge business relations with Atlantic City gambling halls.
The outside companies will be subject to some licensing but since fantasy sports will not be considered gambling, the approvals are not expected to be much different than other vendor suppliers to the casinos.
No one is quite sure what fantasy sports conducted by a casino will look like. It will be up to the casinos top make this work in their favor. Some casinos in Nevada have done this but with full sports gambling available there, fantasy contests have had a low-profile.
With New Jersey’s sports wagering efforts facing a battle in the federal courts and Atlantic City’s casinos struggling, this is an opportunity to add a new dimension to their offerings.
Bring on the degeneracy
Surprised the gaming tax is only 8 percent. Big difference between that and 67 percent in Maryland.