New Jersey Almost Hits $1bn Sports Betting Handle
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) has revealed that it handled almost $1bn in sports wagering in December, while marking an 8.9% year-on-year revenue increase for the month.
The state recorded total revenue of $312.9m (£225.71/€253.85m) for the month, up from $287.3m (£207.24/€232.99) in December 2019.
Sports betting handle hit $929.3m online, with $67m bet at retail locations. It all added up to revenues of $66.4m for the vertical, up 125.6% from the same time in 2019.
FanDuel and PointsBet at Meadowlands topped the NJ sports betting market, bringing in $33.2m of revenue, while Resorts Digital and DraftKings ranked second with $15.4m, trailed by Borgata on $7.5m.
December’s online gambling revenue was $99.5m, a rise of 101.6% from December 2019. Internet casino and slot games brought in $96.4m for the month.
Golden Nugget topped the online market in December with $29.4m in revenue, ahead of the Borgata on $27.2m and Resorts Digital with $21.0m.
Golden Nugget was the only casino to take more money overall in 2020 than it did in 2019. It won more than $415m, which was a rise of almost 10% on the previous year.
Online gambling saw revenue more than doubled from $482.7m in 2019 to $970.3m last year in NJ. Online casino and slot games accounted for $931.5m of all revenue, which was up 101.7% from 2019. Online poker revenue also rose 85.3% to $38.8m.
However, overall gambling revenue for 2020 recorded a decline of 17% on the previous year, due to coronavirus closures and restrictions on land-based casinos.
Casino win for the month was $147.1m, equating to a 29.5% fall. Slots revenue was also down 34.4% year-on-year to $98.4m and table games revenue fell 16.8% to $48.7m.
New Jersey Casino Control Commission chair James Plousis said: “Significant revenue was lost in those early months and, throughout the second half of the year, the resurging public health crisis continued to impact business in Atlantic City.”
However, he added: “Atlantic City’s stakeholders have been working hard to build a strong foundation for recovery. As society begins to approach a return to normalcy, Atlantic City will be ready to restore its recent positive momentum.”
Looking at the fiscal year to date, which started 1 July 2020, NJ sports wagering revenue has reached $398.5m. That is a 33.1% rise on $299.4m in the previous year.
Handle has also increased by 31.4% to $6.02bn as licenced operators offered the opportunity to bet more on sports.
The state has seen $5.5bn bet online, compared to $487.1m at retail venues, which have been hit badly by closures.
Casino win at land-based casinos for the year to date has declined by 43.7% to $1.51bn, with slot machine win down 43.4% to $1.09bn and table games falling 44.5% to $424.4m.
