Carousel Group is looking for a partner in order to enter the New Jersey sports betting market. According to a spokesman, the company is “close to finalizing a deal” with a casino in Atlantic City. The deal may go through later this month with a view to commencing operations in the first quarter of 2021.
Carousel was established three years ago with a mission to “build a global iGaming empire in the regulated online gambling space”. The company’s two primary brands are SportsBetting.com and RaceBook.com.
The goal of the group is to create mobile and sports betting platforms across the United States. The Colorado Gaming Board gave Carousel the green light, and the firm’s online sportsbook is expected to launch in the state by the end of the year.
There are 17 mobile sportsbooks currently available in New Jersey, as well as several retail betting outlets at brick-and-mortar casinos and racetracks. Each land-based betting operator in the Garden State is allowed to have three different online ‘skins’, which adds up to more than 30 online sportsbooks in New Jersey.
There is no availability at Resorts Digital, which operates two of the top NJ betting sites in DraftKings and FoxBet, or at Hard Rock Casino Atlantic City. With the Eldorado-Caesars merger still in the works, it is also unlikely that Caesars, Harrah’s, or Tropicana would be available. However, when Bally’s sale to Twin Rivers is done, the Carousel Group might be able to take one of three skins available.
Two more options for Carousel are Golden Nugget Atlantic City and Borgata, as each of those have one online skin still available. Ocean Casino Resort is partnered up with William Hill, but an self-branded Ocean sportsbook site could still happen. In 2019, Parx launched an online casino under a license from Ocean and an online sports betting product is a possibility.
The recent news about Carousel joining the New Jersey betting market comes as professional sports leagues everywhere work towards restarting their suspended seasons. Even with the suspended seasons, it makes financial sense for Carousel to join the NJ betting boom. Just in 2020, bettors in the Garden State wagered more than $4.5 million, with 80% of those bets made on mobile gambling apps.
The Carousel Group first needs to secure a land-based New Jersey casino partner and then get approval from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. If it gets those things, the company’s sport betting site could be ready by the beginning of 2021.