New Jersey’s sportsbooks handle nearly $600 million in wagers during first four and a half months of legal sports betting
Sports betting and online gambling helped New Jersey to a double-digit increase of the state’s gambling revenue for October, the latest figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement showed.
Total gaming revenue amounted to $239.1 million last month, up 15.8% year-on-year. Revenue generated by Atlantic City’s nine operational casinos totaled $200.6 million for the month of October, reflecting an increase of 8%. Internet gambling revenue stood at $26.8 million, up 30.1%. Revenue from sports betting was $11.7 million.
The US Supreme Court ruled in May in favor of New Jersey as the state was seeking to have a long-standing federal ban on sports betting lifted. The move allowed all 50 states to legalize wagering on professional and college sports if they felt inclined to do so. New Jersey itself legalized the practice in early June and first legal betting operations were launched in the state in mid-June. As many as six states have legalized and are now offering wagering services on their territories since the SCOTUS ruling, including Pennsylvania which took its first legal bet on Thursday, November 15.
In New Jersey, almost all of the state’s nine operational casinos and two of its racetracks offer sports betting, both at physical sportsbooks and online. The properties generated overall revenue of $52 million since June 14, 2018 when first legal bets were placed in the state.
New Jersey’s Sportsbooks Handle Nearly $600 Million in Wagers in First 4 ½ Months
According to the figures released by the Division of Gaming Enforcement, New Jersey’s sportsbooks processed $260 million in sports bets last month, thus bringing the overall betting handle to $597 million since mid-June. Football and baseball accounted for most of October’s wagers, boosted by the playoffs and the World Series.
The amount of $296.4 million was wagered at the state’s physical sportsbooks since sports betting became legal. Internet wagers amounted to $300.9 million since mid-June.
As mentioned above, year-to-date betting revenue totaled $52 million. Resorts’ Digital division took the lion’s share of the revenue bundle with $16.6 million, followed by the Meadowlands racetrack with $15.2 million.
A new player is set to join the New Jersey sports betting space next week. Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings will further venture into the sports betting space by launching a physical sportsbook with its New Jersey partner Resorts Casino. The 5,000-square-foot facility is set to open doors on November 20. It will be located off the casino floor in a space where customers will be able to enter directly from the Atlantic City Boardwalk. Resorts Casino and the newly minted betting operator have been working together since August when their Internet wagering product went live.
Caesars and Hard Rock are the only two Atlantic City casinos that do not offer sports betting. However, thing might change soon for Hard Rock, as the casino’s owner has recently filed a petition with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to be permitted to operate “sports pool and online sports pool.” It is not clear yet when and if Caesars will join the New Jersey sports betting mix.
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