Share
Let’s begin with the obvious – NJ sportsbooks continue to set records.
Ever since the US Supreme Court opened the doors to legal sports betting outside of Nevada, New Jersey has capitalized on the sports betting appetite at every turn.
Figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement showed NJ sportsbooks took in a record $385 million in wagers last month. This resulted in $18.8 million in revenue. This is all despite the lack of football available to bet on in January.
The numbers are still encouraging compared to December when operators took in $319 million in wagers, flipping that for roughly $21 million in revenue.
Even the Super Bowl looked promising. NJ sportsbooks collected $35 million in wagers on Super Bowl 53 in February, however, that resulted in a $5 million loss for operators.
This is all to be expected. New Jersey was the first state post-PASPA, to dive headfirst into the sports betting market. The demand was high, and NJ sportsbooks had all the supply.
But now, that’s not the case.
Delaware and Pennsylvania have sports betting now. Regulators in New York have preliminary rules and regulations in place, and sports betting is a few months away.
In fact, sports betting bills are popping up all over the east coast.
The value of online sports betting
Online sports betting in New Jersey accounted for 79 percent or $304.97 million of the total amount wagered in January.
This is up 76 percent from December, which means customers really value the ability to place bets from their smartphones. This also means operators value the extra revenue online wagering brings from customers not coming into New Jersey casinos.
But is mobile wagering a deal breaker in a state like New York?
A new Siena College poll found exactly 44 percent of registered voters in New York supported and opposed the idea of online sports betting. The other 12 percent said they had no opinion.
Don Levy, director of the Siena College Research Institute, had this to say:
“Voters, aware that the state is expected to soon allow sports betting at the four upstate commercial casinos, are evenly divided on broadening the sports betting law to allow for online betting.”
Leading the pack on New Jersey sports betting
Much like the success New Jersey is seeing from legal sports betting, FanDuel and DraftKings continue to successfully make the transition from daily fantasy sports operator to sportsbook phenoms.
Resorts total revenue for January was $7,136,619. The majority coming from its partnership with DraftKings, which accounted for $6.9 million.
Meadowlands Racetrack and its partnership with FanDuel reported over $7 million in gaming revenue. Of that lump sum, $5,850,117 came from online wagers.
FanDuel released this statement on Wednesday:
“FanDuel Sportsbook started the year very strongly, maintaining its market-leading position in the state. More than half New Jersey’s total handle in January across both retail and online channels was generated by the FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook’s online revenue also increased for the fourth month in a row.”
“It was another great month for bettors with College Bowl season and the NFL Playoffs, and the first month where customers had access to live in-app streaming of the Australian Open.”
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino launched their online and retail sportsbook right before the Super Bowl, bringing New Jersey up to 11 online sportsbooks and 10 retail sportsbooks.
Will New Jersey’s record-setting months continue? Maybe so, but it will be interesting to see for how long.
