Sports betting revenue in New Jersey reaches a record high of $82.6m, which is 54.3% higher than in January last year.
It’s been an interesting couple of days in New Jersey, with Trump Plaza being blown to pieces, Hard Rock NJ promising $2 million to employees, and many other stories. Still, the biggest news for everyone involved in the gaming industry is that the Garden State has broken its sports betting revenue record.
New Jersey Earns Almost $83m in Sports Betting Revenue
The figures released on Wednesday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) suggest that the sports betting industry in the state has entered its golden age. The revenue collected from this form of gambling reached $82.6m, which accounts for almost a quarter of New Jersey’s total gaming revenue ($346.4m).
*New Jersey Reports Record Sports Betting Revenue In January
• New Jersey sportsbooks brought in $82.6M in January, a state record, on a total handle of $958.7M.
• Online betting accounted for 92.5% of all bets.
• Parlays accounted for 22% of all wagers.
Source: @LSPReport
— Roundhill Investments (@roundhill) February 18, 2021
The Garden State has never seen such high numbers since sports betting returned to America in 2018. In fact, New Jersey’s sportsbooks generated a 54.3% smaller revenue in January 2020, which, at the time, was considered a very good month.
The COVID-19 pandemic did wreak havoc on NJ sportsbooks in mid-2020 but since then, the industry has come back to its feet. Actually, it’s been growing at a very high pace for the last couple of months. In December, sports betting revenue reached a record high of $66.4m, which lasted for only a month.
New Jersey Bettors Wagered Almost a Billion in January
January is traditionally the busiest month in US sportsbooks. The reason for that is the Super Bowl, which usually takes place a few weeks after the New Year. This time, the game took place on February 7, but sportsbooks opened the markets long before that.
New Jersey players wagered a total of $948.7m in land-based and online sportsbooks combined. Retail sportsbooks accepted $886.7m worth of bets, while their web-based counterparts worked with $72.1m in January.
According to Bloomberg, New Jersey bettors placed at least $117.4 million on Super Bowl LV. That’s about 116% more than they did a year ago.
FanDuel and PointsBet Remain on the Throne of NJ Sports Betting
FanDuel and PointsBet remain the #1 choice of New Jersey bettors. The two have teamed up with Meadowlands Racetrack to run the sports betting operations. In January, the joint venture made a $46.8m revenue, which is a 76.6% increase year-on-year.
What’s interesting is that despite the fact that there’s a land-based sportsbook operation at Meadowlands Racetrack, most of the profits come from online betting.
In fact, the retail operation made only about $5m in January. The remaining $41.8m came from Meadowland’s online partners – FanDuel and PointsBet.
Meadowlands remains the most successful license holder in New Jersey, followed by Resorts Digital (DraftKings Sportsbook, Fox Bet, and Resorts) whose January revenue was about $15.7m. Borgata came in third, with Borgata Sports and BetMGM helping it to generate $8.46m.
