DraftKings officially debuts mobile sports wagering in New Jersey

In June, New Jersey debuted sports betting at Monmouth Park, and last month the FanDuel Sportsbook opened at The Meadowlands Racetrack.

DraftKings partnered with Resorts International and launched the mobile platform, allowing gamblers to wager on a variety of sporting events, North Jersey reports.

This latest step continues to take sports betting out of the shadows and into the mainstream.

"I think it is already in the mainstream," DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish said Monday. "You watch ESPN and they have the betting lines. It’s already mainstream behavior. You could already bet in Las Vegas and throughout Europe, Australia... Almost all of those countries have legal sports betting. Now that it’s in the United States – it’s going to open up with New Jersey leading the way, an exciting opportunity to move out of the black market, add consumer protections.

People are going to bet on sports and when it’s through an offshore site or through a bookie there is no protection for the consumer. You try to get money out of an offshore site and it’s an awful process. The reason is because it was illegal. There were no protections. The things that the regulators put together for the consumer are great and we’re working closely with them to make sure we’re complying completely."

Here’s a primer on what it means:

How does it work?

While you can bet from your couch while watching a game, the use of geolocation does put two restrictions on the app – you must be 21 years old and within the confines of the state of New Jersey.

What is geolocation?

New Jersey is first off the starting blocks on this and it’s still not legal in New York, so if you are outside the borders of the state it will not allow betting. Anywhere in the state works.

What can you bet on?

If you fulfill those requirements, you can bet on just about any major American sporting event and not just who is winning, but also in-game action and even cashing out bets during games.

"We have the capability to offers dozens of sports," Kalish said. "We’re working with regulators in New Jersey to determine what sports we will offer, and over time more may be available. But all major American sports – we’re not missing anything that people would expect.

"What’s interesting is the depth. You don’t come on and only see, say, the Giants to win. There are dozens of markets within the game, real-time priced in game wagers. And there is the capability of cashing out bets already made. It’s really an amazing platform with amazing depth."

What’s next?

Like FanDuel, the rival in daily fantasy sports to DraftKings, Kalish said that DraftKings will have a brick and mortar location in New Jersey soon.

But the mobile application was the goal and a coup to be first with a staff of approximately 500 employees, spending about a year in the works on this, making their own bet that New Jersey would pass the legislation to allow the betting.