First sporting bets officially placed in New Jersey

The governor of New Jersey made the first legal sports bets in the state on Thursday.

Phil Murphy, who signed the bill into law earlier this week, bet on Germany to win the 2018 World Cup and the New Jersey Devils to win the NHL’s Stanley Cup next season.

The Ante Post bet on Germany will be settled this summer while the bet on the Devils will not be settled until a year in the future.

Murphy only placed $20 bets, so it’s not like the potential winnings will be life-changing for someone on a governor’s salary. In fact, the bet on Germany, which is the most likely of the two bets to win, would return only $110.

Instead, the bets were clearly more of a showing to the public. With the governor betting, it is now perfectly legal for residents and visitors to the state of New Jersey that they can make sports wagers without the stigma of partaking in something that was once illegal in the state.

It was seven years ago when voters in New Jersey first indicated that they wanted sports betting in the state to be legal. Now, the governor of the state is doing it and that clearly means that Joe Public can step right up.

There were numerous punters on hand ready to do exactly that at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on Thursday morning. William Hill has set up camp and, after the governor made his bets, a crowd of punters prepared to take their turns.

The World Cup started on Thursday with Russia thrashing the Saudi team by a score of 5-0. That will have the hosts of the tournament eyeing a spot in the knock-out stages of the event. Certainly, the 2018 World Cup will have the attention of numerous bettors at Monmouth Park in the days and weeks ahead.