New Jersey Betting Exchange License Awarded To Betfair

Updated on November 27, 2015

betfairThis past week New Jersey granted BetFair a license to operate the first legal and regulated online betting exchange in America. BetFair is a UK betting exchange company that built a betting exchange model of its own in 1999. Since then it has become one of the largest online gambling companies in the world, which allows bets on almost anything that you like. Through BetFair you can place bets on anything from whether or not it will snow tomorrow to what the outcome of a presidential election will be.

Four years ago BetFair applied for a license with the New Jersey racing commission but was unable to get the permission it needed. This was in 2011 when New Jersey had just voted for the legalization of sports betting at its casinos and racetracks. At the time, major sports leagues argued that it would be a violation of federal law, according to the professional and amateur sports protection act of 1992. So at that time it looked like BetFair would not have a chance at becoming an online sports betting exchange vendor within New Jersey for a long time.

However, as New Jersey has seen the impact that online betting exchanges have had around the world, and especially in the UK, it believes that BetFair may be able to rejuvenate their horseracing industry as well as regain some customer interest back. A betting exchange such as BetFair allows customers to place bets against one another without having to go through a bookmaker. This means that the odds are offered at a better exchange rate than normal since only a small fee needs to go to the site operators. BetFair will closely regulate the bets and make sure that every bet is upheld.

For this plan to be a success there needs to be enough users available who are willing to bet through the online venue. With New Jersey having 9 million residents, it may have just enough people available to make the site work. If things work out well with BetFair in New Jersey, it could be the initial foothold that the company needs to expand to more areas within the United States. As of now the company will only be offering betting for sports races but they hope to expand options if possible.

The first betting exchange should be available by March 2016, so over the next year New Jersey and its surrounding states will see what kind of an impact this online gambling betting exchange company has. If all goes well, it could spell good things for the future of betting exchanges in America.

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