DraftKings New Jersey: Legal, and Where It All Began

DraftKings New Jersey: The State That Made It All Legal

DraftKings New Jersey is not just another licensed state on the map — it is the state whose own governor sued the NCAA and won, which is the only reason a "DraftKings [state]" search resolves to a real, regulated sportsbook anywhere in the country. DraftKings and Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City went live here in August 2018, days after New Jersey issued its first mobile sports betting approvals, and DraftKings has led the state in mobile handle every month since.

Legal status in New Jersey

New Jersey is the plaintiff state in Murphy v. NCAA, the May 14, 2018 Supreme Court decision that struck down the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) on Tenth Amendment grounds and opened the door for every state, not just Nevada, to legalize sports betting. Governor Phil Murphy signed New Jersey's own Sports Wagering Act less than a month later, in June 2018, and DraftKings launched its sportsbook that August through a partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, one of the licensed casinos the law requires an operator to skin under. New Jersey had already legalized online casino gaming years earlier, in 2013, under Governor Chris Christie — DraftKings folded casino games into its sportsbook app in 2019 and shipped a standalone DraftKings Casino app on June 23, 2020. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) licenses and regulates both products. New Jersey's FY2026 budget raised the online sports betting tax from 13% to 19.75% and the online casino tax from 15% to 19.75%, effective July 1, 2025 — Governor Murphy had originally asked for 25% on both.

State gambling authority: New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement

Every other page on this site about DraftKings being “legal” somewhere exists because of a lawsuit New Jersey filed and won. That is not a marketing line — it is the literal legal history. DraftKings New Jersey isn't just one more licensed state on a map that stretches from Arizona to Wyoming. It's the state whose governor is the named plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that made the entire map possible.

Is DraftKings Legal in New Jersey? Yes — It Started Here

For 26 years, the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) barred states other than Nevada from legalizing sports betting. New Jersey spent six of those years fighting it in court, first under Governor Chris Christie and then under Governor Phil Murphy, whose name ended up on Murphy v. NCAA. On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that PASPA violated the Tenth Amendment's anti-commandeering doctrine and struck it down entirely. New Jersey didn't wait around: Governor Murphy signed the state's own Sports Wagering Act less than a month later, and DraftKings launched its sportsbook that August, partnered with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, about a week after the state issued its first mobile betting approvals.

Why this page reads differently than most. A “DraftKings Ohio” or “DraftKings Illinois” page has to explain a state deciding to join a market that already existed. New Jersey's page has to explain the market being created. DraftKings has led the state in mobile sports betting handle every month since that August 2018 launch.

New Jersey Also Got Online Casino Right First — in 2013

Sports betting isn't even New Jersey's first gambling legalization story. Under Governor Christie, the state authorized online casino gaming for its licensed Atlantic City casinos back in 2013, five years before the PASPA fight resolved. DraftKings folded casino games into its sportsbook app in 2019 and shipped a standalone DraftKings Casino app on June 23, 2020 — making New Jersey one of just five states, alongside Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, where a reader can actually open a DraftKings casino product rather than only a sportsbook.

Is DraftKings Legit in New Jersey?

First to market and still the volume leader is a hard combination to fake. DraftKings beat every other national operator into New Jersey by partnering with an existing Atlantic City license holder — the same skin-agreement structure Michigan later required of DraftKings with the Bay Mills Indian Community — and it has held the top spot in New Jersey mobile handle in the years since. The Division of Gaming Enforcement has regulated that whole run without interruption.

How Safe Is DraftKings for New Jersey Players?

Standard protections apply: DGE licensing on both the sportsbook and casino products, mandatory geolocation, and identity verification at signup, backed by a regulator that has overseen Atlantic City casino gaming for decades longer than online betting has existed. New Jersey also plugs DraftKings into a shared multi-state online poker network with Nevada, Delaware, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — interstate liquidity-sharing that regulators extend only to operators already in good standing across every state involved.

The tax hike that just hit: New Jersey's FY2026 budget, effective July 1, 2025, raised the online sports betting tax from 13% to 19.75% and the online casino tax from 15% to 19.75%. Governor Murphy had originally floated 25% on both before negotiating down. The state still collected a record $925.7 million in gaming tax revenue in FY2026 — up 42.3% year over year.

Bottom line: DraftKings is fully legal in New Jersey for both sportsbook and casino, and this is the one state where “legal here” means something bigger than a single license — New Jersey's own court fight is the reason the phrase applies anywhere else. Treat any deposit as entertainment spending, not income. 21+ only, and if it stops feeling like entertainment, New Jersey's problem gambling helpline is 1-800-GAMBLER.

DraftKings New Jersey — Frequently Asked Questions

Is DraftKings legal in New Jersey?

Yes. New Jersey authorized sports betting through the Sports Wagering Act, signed by Governor Murphy in June 2018 after his state won Murphy v. NCAA at the Supreme Court that May. DraftKings has operated a licensed sportsbook here since August 2018 and a licensed online casino since 2019–2020, both regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Why is New Jersey considered the birthplace of legal sports betting?

Because it is, literally. New Jersey spent six years suing the federal government over the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, and its governor's name is on the Supreme Court case — Murphy v. NCAA — that struck the law down in May 2018. Every state that has since licensed DraftKings, from Ohio to Pennsylvania, is operating in a market that exists because New Jersey won that fight first.

Is DraftKings legit in New Jersey?

Yes — it was the first operator live in the state, launching with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City about a week after New Jersey issued its first mobile approvals in August 2018, and it has led New Jersey in monthly mobile sports betting handle ever since. That track record, under continuous DGE licensing, is about as established as an operator gets in this industry.

Does DraftKings have an online casino in New Jersey?

Yes — New Jersey is one of only five states, alongside Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, where DraftKings runs a full online casino. Casino games first appeared inside the DraftKings sportsbook app in 2019, and a standalone DraftKings Casino app followed on June 23, 2020.

Is DraftKings safe to use in New Jersey?

As safe as regulated New Jersey gambling gets: DGE licensing for both sportsbook and casino, mandatory geolocation, identity verification, and a regulator with two decades of Atlantic City casino oversight behind it. New Jersey also links DraftKings into multi-state shared online poker liquidity with Nevada, Delaware, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — the kind of interstate arrangement regulators only extend to operators they consider stable.

How much did New Jersey raise taxes on DraftKings?

Substantially. New Jersey's FY2026 budget, effective July 1, 2025, raised the online sports betting tax from 13% to 19.75% and the online casino tax from 15% to 19.75% — Governor Murphy had initially proposed 25% on both before lawmakers negotiated the lower compromise figure. The state collected a record $925.7 million in gaming tax revenue in FY2026, up 42.3% year over year.