It's official: New Jersey is the 16th US state to formally legalize daily fantasy sports (DFS) on its territory.
Governor Christie finally signed the legislation approved by the Senate back in the first week of July, while the law will come into force in 90 days.
Even before the adoption of the law, DFS operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel are already present in the New Jersey Market. So what does the law itself change?
Permits and Taxes
The only thing they'll need to do now is to apply for permits from the state's Division of Consumer Affairs, which is required under the provision of the new law.
The new law will also introduce a gross gaming revenue tax for DFS operators, who will have to pay 10.5% tax on the money they earn from the New Jersey-based players. According to the first estimates, the state could earn around $6.6 million on a yearly basis.
The law enables DFS operators to join forces with casinos and state racetracks from Atlantic City. The first partnership of this kind was established in July when Resorts Casino Hotel partnered with SportAD.
Like most DFS laws in the United States, the New Jersey legislation contains many of the standard mechanisms for consumer protection, but it doesn't exclude college athletics from the list of sports on the operators can offer pools.
Still, the major DFS operators stopped offering college sports contests more than a year ago. It will be interesting to see how will the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) react to this, it has invested a lot of efforts in opposing New Jersey's plans to allow single-game sports betting.
A Long Journey Finally Finished
New Jersey's road to DFS legalization started two years ago, with Senator Jim Whelan as one of the leading men behind the original legislation.
Unfortunately, Whelan passed away only a couple of days before the bill finally became law.
Whelan, a former Atlantic City mayor, emphasized the importance of the casino industry for The World's Famous Playground on many occasions.
His commitment was acknowledged by Governor Christie himself, who said the current Atlantic City's comeback was due in no small part to the efforts and passion of Jim Whelan.
