More than a year after announcing its arrival, NYRA Bets still hasn't hit the starting gate in New Jersey. The much-anticipated launch, first revealed in July 2024 when Monmouth Park operator Darby Development and NYRA Bets said the app would take over the state's pari-mutuel wagering system, remains stalled by two regulatory hurdles.
At a public meeting on Dec. 11, 2024, the New Jersey Racing Commission approved NYRA Bets to offer pari-mutuel wagering on its platform. However, according to Michael Symons, deputy director of communications for the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, there still needs to be "account information representatives who are based in New Jersey and successful testing by (NYRA Bets') tote company, the United Tote Company."
Symons said both of those conditions are in the process of being met. Until then, however, the door stays closed to new online horse betting options in the Garden State.
For more than a decade, TVG (now FanDuel Racing), part of FanDuel Group, has operated 4NJBets as the state's lone advance deposit wagering platform.
"NYRA Bets is working closely with all relevant parties, including the New Jersey Racing Commission, to satisfy the state's online wagering regulations," said Pat McKenna, vice president of communications for the New York Racing Association. "We look forward to completing that process and launching NYRA Bets in New Jersey."
The NJRC did not provide an exact timeframe for when Garden State horseplayers will have more ADW options to choose from. The regulatory body only said it will let NYRA Bets know when it can officially launch operations.
While horse racing fans wait, New Jersey's sports betting market tells a very different story. Since retail sportsbooks opened in June 2018 and mobile apps followed two months later, several operators have crowded the field. Sportsbooks have been eager to add horse racing to their menus, including Caesars Sportsbook and BetMGM who already have long-standing partnerships with NYRA in other states. Those arrangements could make for a smooth transition once approval comes.
Another legal sports betting app in New Jersey, Bet365, partnered with 1/ST Technology last year to roll out its own United States-based horse betting platform.
NYRA officials have previously said integrating horse racing into sportsbook apps would boost visibility for the sport.
"As the sports betting market continues its rapid evolution, the expansion of NYRA Bets into New Jersey will benefit consumers by increasing competition," Tony Allevato, president of NYRA Bets, said when the New Jersey deal was announced last year.
If and when NYRA Bets crosses the finish line in New Jersey, the Garden State, one of the largest sports betting markets in the country, could become a proving ground for that vision.
