NJ Sportsbooks Near $1B in Wagers After Strong November

On Dec 13, 2018

Wagers at New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks rose 27 percent in November, to a whopping $330.7 million, and revenue rebounded from October. New Jersey’s handle now sits at $928.1 million in less than six months since legalization, an undeniable success, according to analysts for PlayNJ.com.

By comparison, the October handle in Nevada, the nation’s largest legal sports betting market, was $528 million.

“New Jersey continues its march toward becoming the nation’s largest legal sports betting market,” said Dustin Gouker, lead sports betting analyst for PlayNJ.com. “The main driver is online sports betting, which now accounts for the vast majority of all bets in New Jersey. The state’s embrace of mobile betting has shown the path forward for any other state planning on legalizing and regulating sports betting.”

New Jersey’s online sportsbooks accounted for $238.6 million, or 72 percent, of total bets in November, with retail sportsbooks making up the remaining 28 percent, according to official reporting released Wednesday. That compares to 67 percent of total bets flowing through online sportsbooks in October.

Overall, November revenue recovered from a weak October. New Jersey’s $21.2 million in November gross revenue nearly doubled the $11.7 million October win and fell just short of the state’s high-water mark of $23.96 million in September.

New Jersey could soon face some headwinds, though. Momentum to legalize mobile sports betting in New York — a primary feeder market for New Jersey — is gaining. That could chip away at New Jersey’s growth. In addition, legal online sports betting could begin in Pennsylvania by early 2019.

“New Jersey’s period of having the mobile sports betting market to itself is coming to an end,” Gouker said. “A lot of wagering takes place near the population centers in New York and Philadelphia. At this point it would be premature to estimate its effect, but New Jersey’s astronomical growth so far will no doubt slow if and when New York joins the market.”

DraftKings Sportsbook — which accounts for nearly all of Resorts’ online revenue — fueled Resorts’ to $7.2 million in online gross revenue, up 41 percent from $5.1 million in October. DraftKings — which represented 34 percent of the online win in November, down from 44 percent in October — remains the online market leader. But its market share narrowed, led by:

• FanDuel Sportsbook ($4.4 million, up from $2.4 million in October)
• Monmouth/William Hill/Sugarhouse ($1.2 million, up from $608,611)
• Ocean Resort/William Hill ($915,930, up from $385,641)
• Caesars Sportsbook and 888sport ($205,046, up from $108,359)
• playMGM/Borgata ($194,212, up from $66,924)

FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands remained the market leader among retail sportsbooks, posting $2.6 million in November gross revenue, up 165 percent from $1.1 million in October. FanDuel represented 42 percent of the retail win in November. But competition is increasing, including by DraftKings, which opened a retail book inside Resorts AC in late November. FanDuel was followed in gross revenue by:

• Ocean Resort Casino ($1.9 million, up from $438,552 in October)
• Monmouth Park ($1.2 million, up from $606,981)
• Borgata ($877,835, up from $120,288)
• Resorts AC ($158,332, up from $97,313)
• Golden Nugget ($130,874, up from $46,109)
• Tropicana Casino ($108,751, up from $15,314)
• Bally’s AC (-$26,557, down from $303,240)
• Harrah’s AC (-$124,260, down from $104,448)

“DraftKings’ advantage from being the first to hit the online market is slowly beginning to dissipate, and no New Jersey sportsbook will be affected more by legalization in New York than FanDuel at The Meadowlands,” Gouker said. “With the market set for change, it’s critical for operators to establish a solid foundation in terms of revenue and users now.”

Legal Online Gambling Sets Annual Revenue Record

New Jersey’s online casino and poker industry cruised pass the annual revenue record it set last year by generating a record monthly total of $26.9 million in November. New Jersey’s monthly total was up slightly from October, and pushed the state to $269.7 million in 2018 revenue, surpassing the $245.6 million tallied in 2017. 

An even greater milestone lies just ahead. The industry has now generated $992.1 in revenue since launch in November 2013, and should surpass the $1 billion mark in December.

“New Jersey has proven that online gambling is a critical component to the health of a market’s gambling industry,” said Steve Ruddock, lead online gambling analyst for PlayNJ.com. “As the industry closes in on $1 billion in lifetime revenue, there’s no longer a debate: online gambling is an Atlantic City success story.”

Nowhere has online gambling meant more than at the Golden Nugget, which is home to the Golden Nugget, Betfair, and SugarHouse online casino brands. By generating $9.2 million in November, down from $9.7 million in October, the market leader has generated more than $250 million since launch, and is on track to break $100 million for the year.

Some important online casino and poker data from the November report:

• Online casinos generated $4.7 million in November tax revenue, injecting $173.6 million into state coffers since launch.
• The industry generated $898,136 per day in the 30 days in November, up from $863,028 per day in the 31 days in October.
• Online casino games generated $25.4 million in November, up from $25.1 million in October. Online poker hit $1.6 million in November, down from $1.7 million.

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

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