William Hill to run betting lounge at Prudential Center

Whenever the New Jersey Devils choose the ice, fans will soon have the choice of seeing their game as well as other live games from a lounge area that looks and feels like a sportsbook.
As part of becoming a team sponsor, sportsbook operator William Hill will get its name on a Prudential Center sofa where matches can be watched more than 20 screens with chances boards showing the menu of gambling options across all sport.
Since the NHL isn’t comfortable with the venue being an actual sportsbook where bets can be placed in windows and kiosks, William Hill US CEO Joe Asher told ESPN that company ambassadors will assist bettors in downloading William Hill’s gaming program. The space is being converted and rebranded quickly, but there’s presently no opening date.
Odds will be displayed not just inside the sport couch but also on the team’s 4-story scoreboard. The lounge will be open for each and every occasion in the place, including concerts. That is a lot of vulnerability, as Billboard rated the venue 10th on earth on its Arena Power List earlier this month.
“Our aim has always been to create Prudential Center the home of sports and entertainment in New Jersey, but finally our duty is to create the most dynamic fan experience in the industry today, and the William Hill Sports Lounge will play a part in amplifying enthusiast experience here,” said Hugh Weber, president of the Devils’ ownership team, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.
William Hill, which works more sportsbooks than every other company in the country as a result of its 108 locations in Nevada, has been aggressive in New Jersey since May, if the Supreme Court allowed states to make their own conclusions regarding sports gambling after ruling that parts of the skilled and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 were unconstitutional.
The business became the first operator of a sportsbook in the country as it opened at Monmouth Park racetrack on June 14. But competition is fierce within the country, which can be projected to surpass Nevada in sport betting handle and revenue.
Daily fantasy sites DraftKings and FanDuel, armed with a healthy database, have been among the first to launch programs on which lovers can bet as long as it was done within state lines. FanDuel followed with its first sportsbook in the Meadowlands, on the grounds in which the New York Jets and Giants play, which started a month later William Hill’s racetrack location debuted.
“We’re spending a considerable amount of advertising dollars in New Jersey,” Asher said. “It is going to be quite a competitive and costly landscape for another few years. A think a good deal of companies in the space feel the need to push hard in the state as a testing ground to prove they can be anywhere. In a way, it’s like the Iowa caucuses in politics.”
Even though New Jersey is now one of five states that has legalized sports betting — along with Nevada, Delaware, Mississippi and West Virginia — it’s the fastest-growing state. In the first four weeks following sports gambling was legalized, New Jersey earned $336.6 million in wagers, according to the nation’s Division of Gaming Enforcement.
“I stated that, when fully mature, the New Jersey sports gambling market would double that of Nevada,” Asher said. “It is early days, but I could see how even that is being conservative.”
William Hill is currently one of eight companies that offer mobile betting on devices inside the nation.