New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks have raked in nearly $3 billion in wagers and nearly $200 million in revenue in the first 12 months since the legalization of sports betting in June 2018.
Moreover, May 2019’s $318.9 million in sports bets positioned New Jersey for the first time to surpass Nevada in monthly handle, according to gaming analysts.
“We knew that sports betting in New Jersey would be very successful, but it’s fair to say that so far the legalization of sports betting has exceeded our expectations,” commented Dustin Gouker, a leading sports betting analyst. “$3 billion in wagers in just 12 months is an impressive feat by any measure. In just one year, New Jersey is set up to become the country’s biggest legal sports betting market.”
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New Jersey’s Record-Breaking First Year After the Legalization of Sports Betting
New Jersey’s May handle shot up 1.7% from $313.7 million in April, 2019. According to official reporting, New Jersey’s retail and online sportsbooks accepted $2.9 billion in wagers in the first 12 since the legalization of sports betting in the state. By comparison, Nevada generated $315.5 million in handle in May 2018.
“If May is indeed the month that New Jersey moves past Nevada for the first time since the legalization of sports betting, it will be a cause for celebration in the Garden State,” Gouker said at the time. “It looks like New Jersey sports bettors have a stronger preference for baseball and basketball than Nevada, so it makes sense that May would be the month for this to happen. But clearly, New Jersey is on its way to becoming the biggest legal sports betting jurisdiction in the country.”
The May 2019 sports betting handle in New Jersey generated $15.5 million in revenue, down from $21.2 million in April. By that time, New Jersey sportsbooks had generated a win of more than $94 million and $16.5 million in state tax revenue since launch. Online sports betting accounted for 82.6%, or $263.6 million of May 2019’s handle.
Market leaders PointsBet and FanDuel online sportsbooks generated $7.9 million in gross revenue, down from $8.8 million in May. The FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands led all retail sportsbooks, reporting $796,469 in gross revenue for May 2019, down from $3.3 million in April.
“The branded sportsbooks by the daily fantasy sports leaders continue to dominate the sportsbooks licensed by Atlantic City casinos,” Gouker said. “Part of that success is the brand recognition of DraftKings and FanDuel. But the Meadowlands FanDuel Sportsbook is close to New York City which is also a big factor to its dominance, especially on the retail side.”
Online Casinos and Poker in New Jersey Did Well Too
New Jersey’s online casinos and poker websites generated $38.3 million in gross revenue in May, 2019, up 36.5% compared to $24.3 million in May 2018. In fact, revenue for the first five months of 2019 grew by 34.9%, to $179.4 million, compared to just $116.9 million during the first five months of 2018.
New Jersey’s online gaming market was also one of the beneficiaries of New Hampshire’s successful lawsuit.
According to Steve Ruddock, a leading online gambling analyst, “The federal ruling that the Wire Act doesn’t apply to legal online gaming was a big win for New Jersey. The ruling ensures that robust growth should continue for our gaming industry, which has already received a big boost by the legalization of sports betting.”
New Jersey Gaming Revenue 2020
Due to the shutdown of the Atlantic City casinos and retail sportsbooks for the entirety of the second quarter, there was a sharp decline in both retail gaming revenue and sports betting across the board. Obviously, the postponement of major league sports also had a dampening effect on not only retail sports betting, but mobile sportsbooks too. In fact, online casinos were the only gaming verticals to experience year-over-year growth during Q2 2020.
However, the legalization of sports betting online, along with the Garden State’s online casinos, should help pull New Jersey out of the financial hole of Q2’s poor performance.
