Betfair launches marketing campaign ahead of anticipated New Jersey opening

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Oct. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Betfair (LSE: BET), one of the UK's largest online betting and gaming operators, which has over 4m registered customers, has launched "LetsPlayNJ.com" to raise awareness of New Jersey's plan to introduce legal and licensed online casino and poker products for the first time on November 26, 2013.

Prospective customers can now go to LetsPlayNJ.com to receive more information about Betfair's developments ahead of the State officially opening its market.

Betfair is supporting the launch with a major multi-faceted advertising campaign in New Jersey involving billboards and online advertising. Digital display ads have already begun running at the Ferry terminals in Hoboken targeting NJ commuters. Betfair has also launched Twitter and Facebook social profiles where it will be hosting free-to-play competitions, sweepstakes and fun-to-play games ahead of the launch.

Betfair will offer online gaming in New Jersey under an agreement with Trump Plaza Associates LLC, a New Jersey Internet Gambling permit holder. When Betfair gets approval to launch, it will follow up the teaser marketing activity with a heavyweight campaign running across cable TV, radio, digital and social media.

 "LetsPlayNJ.com is a great way to build awareness about Betfair in New Jersey. We're going to use it to give customers a taste of the Betfair experience that they will enjoy when we are permitted to launch our online casino," stated Paul La Fontaine, MD of Gaming, Betfair. "New Jersey is leading the way by launching online gaming and creating a new economy. Betfair brings more than a decade of online experience and through our platform will be pleased to enable play anywhere, anytime through web and mobile devices.

Betfair has an established presence in the US which it gained through an acquisition of TVG in 2009. TVG is the operator of the TVG horse racing television network that's shown in approximately 35 million US homes and is a leading provider of licensed wagering on horse races through the Internet and mobile devices in the US. TVG is the platform provider for 4NJBets the only horse racing account-wagering platform available to New Jersey residents.

The current campaign has been created by London-based advertising agency, WCRS.

Betfair pioneered the first successful Betting Exchange in 1999, which enables customers to come together to bet with each other. This transformed the company from a start up to a member of the FTSE 250 in 10 years. The Exchange remains the company's differentiator in a competitive marketplace whilst it also operates an established casino and poker business across many European countries.

SOURCE Betfair