People from New York and Pennsylvania are traveling in droves to place sports bets in New Jersey.

This has been happening since New Jersey’s first sportsbooks opened in August. New Jersey is the only state of the three to make sports betting legal after the Supreme Court ended the federal ban on the activity in May.

Pennsylvania is considering a bill to legalize sports betting, and New York is also planning to look at the issue once more during the 2019 legislative session. Another one of New Jersey’s neighbors Delaware also made sports betting legal in June.

Masses cross state lines

The region around New Jersey is mad for sports. They have many great teams in that represent their region with pride and passion. Their loyal fan base loves to support their teams any way that they can. This includes placing bets on their favorites.

While illegal sports betting is still prominent in New Jersey and surrounding states, more people are looking at legal options than ever before.

Many people cross the border into New Jersey regularly to place their sports bets. While they often have to pay a toll to get there, they write it off as being a price of doing business.

Sports betting is advertised heavily in New York, even though it’s not legal there. There are advertisements at train stations, on billboards, and over the radio. The only way people can get their sports betting fix is to cross the border into New Jersey.

Some will drive, some will take the train. Those who live reasonably nearby may even cycle across the border so they can place their bets through one of the mobile sports betting apps available in New Jersey.

Once a person is physically in New Jersey, it is legal to place a bet on sports. There are also sportsbooks found at the majority of the casinos in Atlantic City, as well as the racetracks in the state.

According to FanDuel, 9% of their sportsbook clients live in New York and 4% live in Pennsylvania. Draft Kings estimates that about 20% of their regular clients come from other states to New Jersey in order to place their wagers.

A Brooklyn resident spoke with the?Courier-Post recently about his sports betting routine. He goes from Brooklyn to Manhattan every Sunday morning and then gets a train to New Jersey. He says: ?“I’ll get off the train and stand right in the station, a few steps from where I got off, take out my phone, do my bets right there, and go back home.”

Bright future for New Jersey

New Jersey led the effort to end the federal ban on sports betting. After many years of struggles, that effort finally succeeded in May with the Supreme Court decision.

To date, five states have open sportsbooks; Mississippi, West Virginia, Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey. Many other states will consider bills to legalize sports betting in the near future.

More than $336m (￡258.5m) has been bet on sports since New Jersey legalized it in the middle of June. A growing trend is mobile sports betting.

Five mobile sports betting apps are available for players in the state. In recent months, the level of revenue generated from mobile sports betting apps has eclipsed revenues from physical sports betting locations.

This is a trend that is only going to grow stronger over time. The convenience factor of being able to place your sports bets from wherever you are is massive. People no longer have to physically travel to a casino or racetrack to get their bets on.

Overall revenues are also growing strongly. The most recent available figures are for September. They saw a 92% increase over August revenues, rising to $184m (￡141.6m) for the month.

The beginning of the pro and college football seasons plays a large role in this significant rise. New Jersey is quickly catching up on Nevada as the leader in sports betting in the United States.

The competitive tax rate is particularly attractive to operators. There is a 9.75% tax on sports bets placed at racetracks or casinos. For mobile sports bets, this rate rises to 14.25%.

It is certainly a great help to the state that so many people are coming across the border and adding to the state coffers through their sports bets.