The operators of the Hard Rock International are hoping to offer daily fantasy sports contests to their customers when they open on the site of the former Trump Taj Mahal in 2018.
Their move is part of a growing trend of land-based casinos offering daily fantasy sports contests, but could add an interesting wrinkle to the Garden State’s onging battle to legalize sports betting.
Word of the Hard Rock’s ambitious move into the daily fantasy sports market came via documents filed with the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement. The filings were first discovered and reported on by reported on by reporters at Legal Sports Report.
The big move toward daily fantasy sports was trumpeted via a fairly innocuous phrase buried among legal filings which reads:
We would like the ability to host Fantasy Sports. …
We believe that this will enhance the customer experience and allow the New Jersey Casinos to remain competitive with other jurisdictions that already offer this type of gaming. This proposal has negative impact on gross gaming revenue and should increase (gross gaming) revenue and appeal to Millennials.
Daily fantasy sports, it turns out, are something of a legal grey area for New Jersey casino operators. The contests are technically legal and are even offered by at least one casino. At the same time, New Jersey lawmakers are working to finalize a bill that would formally legalize the practice for the state’s casinos.
How daily fantasy sports contests offered by casinos will be impacted by the state’s ongoing effort to elgalize sports betting is unclear. That said, casinos that offer daily fantasy sports today are setting themselves up for success by developing a customer base that’s interested in visiting their properties for something more than the traditional offerings of an Atlantic City casino.