PlayUp Signs Deal to Enter New Jersey

Categories: News, New Jersey | Published by: Alex W

14/01/2021

PlayUp has agreed a deal to launch their sports betting platform in New Jersey’s growing betting market.

Another sports betting website is poised to enter the New Jersey sports betting industry. Australian-based PlayUp, an online betting, and entertainment company that also provides daily fantasy sports and horse racing in India, New Zealand, and Australia, is poised to enter its second U.S. market. This comes after acquiring a sports betting license in New Jersey. When the PlayUp platform launches, it will become the 18^th active sportsbook in the Garden State. The brand has revealed they plan to launch in the first quarter of this year.

To receive the license, PlayUp agreed to a multi-year deal with FR Park Racing, LP (FRP), who are the sports betting certificate holder and operator of Freehold Raceway in Freehold. Pennwood Racing, Inc owns FRP, and they have partners including Penn National Gaming Inc, Parx Casino, and Greenwood Racing. This is the second deal that PlayUp has announced after recently obtaining a license to operate a platform in the Colorado sports betting market.

Matthew Cullen, Parx senior vice president of interactive gaming and sports, said they were “happy to partner with PlayUp in New Jersey.” He said it was exciting to partner with the company as they introduce their “international expertise of online sports betting” to New Jersey.

In September 2020, Parx Sportsbook at Freehold Raceway opened a retail sportsbook with nine self-service kiosks and four teller windows. The betting handle in New Jersey has been setting new records each month. The state posted a national record in November and isn’t far away from topping $1billion wagered in a single month.

PlayUp Link Up with Dennis Drazin

PlayUp began to establish links with New Jersey in December when Dennis Drazin was appointed to the company’s board of directors. Drazin has been involved in the sports betting industry for a long time in the Garden State and is chairman and chief executive officer of Darby Development LLC. Darby Development operates the largest racetrack in New Jersey, Monmouth Park.

Drazin and the track made sports betting history in New Jersey when it accepted the first legal sports bet by Gov. Phil Murphy on June 14, 2018. The wager was placed at its onsite William Hill sportsbook.

In November, PlayUp raised 25 million dollars to attack the U.S market and expand across the country. PlayUp USA CEO Laila Mintas said they were “excited about the partnership with two excellent brands” when describing the deals with Penn National and Parx Casino. He said the company’s next step was to grow a “strong and innovative sports betting brand in the U.S.”