The rate at which investors are rushing to set up gambling operations in the state of New Jersey is an indication of the market’s potential. It is no wonder that the revenue collected from bets placed in this jurisdiction has continued to increase exponentially over time. Financial data for the month of September indicate that NJ raked in more than 1 billion from bets placed within the month.
According to the figures which have just been released, the football season has had a great contribution to the revenues realized by betting operators in New Jersey. A lot more people placed their bets through sportsbooks and many of these used their mobile phones.
The financial reports were as usual released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. The report revealed that the $1.01 billion mark achieved from sports wagers over the course of the month was a cumulative sum drawn from the performance of the nine major casinos operating in Atlantic City and 3 racetracks. This is inarguably a new record for the state gambling space and in the entire country at large.
Out of the more than $1 billion that casino players in New Jersey used as bet money in the month of September, a little over $82 million remained within the various casinos deposits as net profit made from betting operations. The rest of the money went to running costs and prize pools won by players who won various bets. Half of the money made as profits resulted from deposits made at the Meadowlands Racetrack near New York City in East Rutherford – a good guess would be that the brand did not use a lot on expenses and winning bets payouts.
Speaking on behalf of the American Gaming Association, the senior vice president, Casey Clark, commented on what a strong betting market NJ had been since it was regulated in 2018. No other state, even the ones that have been active for a long time has at any point pulled in $1 billion worth of bets. The September performance is extremely promising because it represents the appreciation of legal sports betting among the general American population.
From the financial reports that have been made public, it is obvious that the gambling industry in New Jersey had a good month in September. Compared to the previous year, the current year’s performance signifies a 40% increase in revenue.
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The NJ gambling history
Before New Jersey was regulated for legal betting in 2018, it was one of the states in the United States that people know quite little about. The betting giant then was Nevada and people made long trips from across the world just to converge at this destination where luck resides. Come 2018 and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of legalized gambling – in the case which was applicable across all 50 states, the court granted permission for legal sports betting.
Since NJ was at the center of the legal process from the beginning, it must have been the reason the adoption of that law was quite fast there. It is also the reason for the wide gap that exists between NJ and other gambling states in the country. From 2018 to date, the state of New Jersey has perpetually amended its gambling laws through its state assembly to remain relevant in a constantly ganging market.
When it comes to new records as far as gambling industry performance is concerned, NJ tops the list nationwide. While this is the first time that a single state has collected this much from gambling revenue in a single month, it is not the first time that NJ holds the record. In December 2020, sports betting revenue from New Jersey stood at $996 million – a record.
Looking back at the first nine months of 2021, there is no doubt that the gambling industry in New Jersey maintained its leading position in the country. This is considering the fact that sportsbooks have managed to collect bets worth $7 billion. This is what it means to be an early adopter in a movement as NJ has been in the legalized gambling.
Individual casino contribution to the profits
Even as the state victory is being celebrated, it is important to acknowledge the various players that have made it all possible. Each of the casinos operating in NJ has expressed satisfaction in the performance of the betting industry for September. The revenue collected from in-person betting rose by 30% compared to the same period the previous year while money collected from internet gambling rose by 40%.
The leading casino establishment in NJ in terms of revenue collected has been perennially been Borgata Casino. In September 2021, the Borgata collected over $111 million from bets; this was about 75% higher than what had been achieved from the previous year. In second position after Borgata Casino was Hard Rock; the casino managed to hit $48.6 million in collected bets which was 36% more than what was collected the previous year. Next on the list was Tropicana which achieved an upward progression of 33% in revenue for September 2021 which was $34.8 million.
At number four in order of the amount of revenue collected was Ocean Casino Resort which raised $32.1 million in bets placed (an increase of 8.5%). Although Harrah’s revenue was less than what the first four casinos had recorded, its performance marked an increase of 42.5% with the $27.8 million collected with the 3 top casinos reporting less margins.
Caesars ranked at number 6 managing to collect $21.6 million which was 14% more than what the casino had achieved the previous year. The bottom 3 entities that had combined internet and physical betting premises were Resorts with $17.7 million, Bally’s with $14.5 million and Nugget with $13.1 million. The order of performance for online based entities was Resorts Digital at $41.5 million, Golden Nugget Online Gaming at $31 million and Caesars Interactive NJ at $10.1 million.
