Caesars has been a fixture in Atlantic City for 40 years now and will likely be a well-known gaming brand to most residents of New Jersey. Caesars Sports NJ launched in 2018, going live with a slick betting app and online sportsbook. Does one of America’s most iconic gaming brands deliver? Caesars Sports NJ certainly gets a lot right, including a no deposit-required free bet just for registering. Read our full review of Caesars’ online sportsbook to get the full analysis.

Caesars Sports NJ is operated by Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc, part of Caesars Entertainment Corporation, one of the world’s biggest and most influential gaming companies. Caesars Sports NJ has a full license from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE). A link to Caesars’ certificate is found at the bottom of the online sportsbook homepage.

Caesars uses the latest security measures to keep your account safe. For example, you can enable strong authentication for an extra dose of security. In addition, you will receive an SMS with an access code with each login, and Caesars Sports NJ also has an auto-lock feature. Robust firewalls are used on the site’s servers, and the latest SSL encryption methods are employed to protect transactions sent over the internet.

It can be difficult to talk about reputation when it comes to an organization like Caesars, as it covers several other brands, products and, indeed, eras of American gaming culture. However, Caesars has a positive reputation for treating its customers fairly. Caesars’ New Jersey online sportsbook has been well received so far by sports bettors and gaming industry insiders. Highlights of bettor feedback include the rewards program, no despot sports betting bonus and a quality mobile betting app.

Caesars Sports NJ has a wide range of payment methods, including PayPal and Pay+ Pre-Paid Card. An estimated three days of processing is required for withdrawals with most methods, although you can withdraw winnings quicker with Cash at Cage at Caesars Atlantic City.

You can download the Caesars Sports betting app for Android and Apple handheld devices easily. Google does not list all NJ sports betting apps in its Play Store yet, but you can download the official Caesars betting app for Android by navigating to Caesars’ mobile site and following the prompts for installation on your handset. You can find the appropriate link for the Apple Store download by clicking on ‘Mobile Casino’ on the bottom of the sportsbook homepage. To download Caesars betting app for mobile on your Apple handheld device, iOS 8.0 or greater is required.

The app has recently had an upgrade and bettors will have no qualms about the usability and organization of Caesars mobile betting app. You can quickly find markets and place bets on your smartphone or tablet, and you will be able to access extra features likes a sports results service. All sports listed for betting on the desktop site are also available on Caesars sports app.  The mobile app also gives you full access to Caesars Casino online. However, if you want to access live chat for customer support, you will have to visit Caesars Sport desktop site.

Caesars Sports NJ is one of the few online sportsbooks to offer a no deposit free bet for new customers. On registration, you will receive a $10 free bet as part of Caesars Sports’ welcome betting offer. There is no deposit required to get the free bet – just enter promo code SPORTS10 on registration. You must use the free bet within 7 days, place it on a sports event with odds greater than 1.50 (-200). Please note that your stake is not included in returns. We can’t criticize this welcome free bet offer at all – there are no strings attached and no risk. Perfect for anyone who might be a little apprehensive because they haven’t tried an online sportsbook before.

There is a second Caesars Sports NJ welcome bonus, which is tied into your first deposit and first wager at the sportsbook. Deposit at Caesars NJ and place your first bet between $10 and $300, and Caesars will match that value 100% with a free bet in your account. Please be aware that your first deposit and wager must be $10 or more to take advantage of this offer (enter promo code SPORTS300). The free bet has the same terms as the no deposit offer above, but there are no extra wagering requirements.

Both Caesars’ betting welcome offers for new bettors are, in our view, very generous. The no deposit $10 bonus offer might seem small, but it comes at no risk to your wallet. The matched free bet offer is also a strong welcome offer, especially as it applied regardless if your initial bet wins or loses. Often, we see sportsbooks require winnings form free bets to be wagered a number of times, but with Caesars Sports betting offer, any winnings will be paid in real cash. Top marks to Caesars here.

Unfortunately, aside from the double-tiered welcome bonus, the sports betting offers are few and far between at Caesars Sports NJ. Indeed, we were disappointed to find that Caesars does not have a dedicated daily odds boost section. We would certainly like to see something solid added here, like the Golden Lines odds boosts at the Golden Nugget, because almost every other online sportsbook around has some form of enhanced odds promotion in its repertoire.

Caesars Entertainment Corporation won Best Customer Loyalty Program at the prestigious 2018 Global Gaming Awards, so the company knows a thing or two about reward schemes. However, Caesars Rewards, the company’s online loyalty program, isn’t very clearly defined on the sportsbook and seems to be aimed towards online casino players. You will, nevertheless, earn 1 point for every $10 wagered on sports, and Caesars will add $10 to your account each time you accrue 1,000 points. You can link your online account to Caesars Totals Rewards ™, the company’s scheme that also covers its resorts. Wagering and playing casino games online – you have full access to the online casino with your sportsbook account – will earn Rewards points, which can be used for travel and hotel perks at Caesars’ locations.

Caesars’ NJ online sportsbook website is smartly laid out, with an attractive design. The online casino had been live for a while before the sportsbook was added, so Caesars decided to revamp the whole site in time for the sportsbook launch last year. That refurbishment is evident and has led to the creation of a slick, modern sports betting website. Sports betting markets and promotions are easily accessible, and there is never a sense of being overwhelmed by too much info on screen – something that does blight other sportsbooks. A special mention should go to the trending markets and trending bets sections. The former highlights the most popular events, whereas the latter highlights where other bettors are placing their wagers. A neat feature that will be appreciated by new and experienced bettors alike.

Caesars Sports covers 10 different sports – football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, tennis, golf, MMA, boxing and motor racing. That’s below average for the online sports betting industry in New Jersey, and we would like to see the likes of rugby, cricket, darts, pool and other niche sports added to the mix. Still, all the staples of US sports betting – MLB, NFL, MLS, NBA, and NHL – are offered. As with all New Jersey online sportsbooks, Caesars cannot offer horse racing betting or take bets on New Jersey-based college sports teams.

So, how is the depth of coverage for the sports offered by Caesars’ online sportsbook? All the basics are covered – moneyline, totals, spread, parlays, props – but we are definitely looking at a sportsbook that is below average in this area. For example, a typical MLB game will have 28-30 markets, which normally would be fine, but a heavy concentration of those betting lines are totals – total runs 1st inning, total runs 2nd inning and so on. A superior sportsbook might have markets on specific players to score home runs, correct score markets etc.

We put Caesars Sports betting odds to the test in order to see how they compare to the odds offered by other NJ sportsbooks online. We chose – at random – the futures market for the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals, and then compared Caesars’ odds to the Golden Nugget Sportsbook and Resorts Sportsbook. We found that all three sportsbooks had the same odds for the favorite, Tampa Bay Lightning. However, Caesars alone had the best price on the second-favorite, Boston Bruins, with odds that would return about 10% more than the two rival sportsbooks. To be clear, we should add that the markets were mixed, as some sportsbooks favored certain teams above others, but bettors should be fairly happy with Caesars’ competitivity of betting lines.

Caesars offers live betting markets on selected events on all the sports listed on the site. Arguably, the in-play betting suffers from the same lack of variety as the pre-game betting options, i.e. too much focus on props and totals betting lines, and nothing that really makes the in-play betting coverage standout. Indeed, we were disappointed to see how few live events were covered. At the time of testing Caesars Sports, we found three in-play events, all of which were MLB games. At the same time, we checked 888sport NJ, which had 36 different betting events, including ATP tennis, Europa League soccer qualifiers and golf. Caesars bettors would also benefit from the addition of some extra padding around the live betting console. At the moment, it’s just the betting lines, whereas the best live betting sportsbooks will have real-time stats updates, commentary and graphics.