NJ sportsbooks made history in September with the first reported $1 billion handle in a single month.
Handle was $1.011 billion, which is up 35.1% from the $748.6 million bet last September. Operators are likely much happier with the 82.9% spike in revenue, though. Sports betting revenue was $82.4 million, good for 8.2% hold and $10.2 million in tax dollars.
Sports betting in New Jersey nearly eclipsed the $1 billion mark last December with $996.3 million bet. Revenue was just shy of a new record – sportsbooks won $82.6 million in January 2021.
It is not exactly a surprise to see New Jersey top the $1 billion mark coincide with the return of NFL betting. The state had 70.5 million online gambling transactions over the first four weeks of the season, the most of any state according to GeoComply.
That accounted for 21.4% of all transactions in the US over that period. New Jersey’s transactions jumped 43.3% compared to last year.
Shocker: football led NJ sportsbooks in September
Football, by far, was the most popular sport to bet on at NJ sportsbooks in September, according to the state’s breakdown of completed events.
There was $400.8 million bet just on football last month in New Jersey. That led to just $10.3 million in revenue, though, or a 2.6% hold.
The moneymaker as usual was parlays. Of the $216.1 million bet on parlays – the second-biggest market in NJ last month – sportsbooks kept $42.3 million, or hold of 19.6%.
Best of the rest
Baseball edged out the “other” category by just over $9 million in handle, though “other” did better revenue.
Baseball accounted for $185.2 million in bets and $6.6 million in revenue. The “other” category had $175.9 million in handle and $7.6 million in revenue.
Basketball betting, the fifth and final named category in NJ sports betting reports, totaled $22.4 million in September. That brought in just $77,049 in revenue.
Meadowlands again leads revenue
As usual, the partners under the Meadowlands license led the state in sports betting revenue.
FanDuel Sportsbook, PointsBet and SuperBook combined for $41.3 million in total revenue, including $36.6 million from online.
DraftKings Sportsbook, Fox Bet and Resorts‘ own brand under the Resorts AC license came second with $13.6 million in combined revenue.
FanDuel and DraftKings are widely understood to generate the lion’s share of their license’s profits.
BetMGM and Borgata‘s own brand under the Borgata license came third with $13.4 million.
How long can NJ sportsbooks keep this pace?
This is the fourth football season New Jersey sportsbooks are operational. In the first three, handle grew month-over-month in October and November, and that trend included December in 2020.
Based on those trends, NJ could hit a 10-digit handle every month through the end of the year. Anything beyond that, though, will really depend on what New Yorkers do once online NY sportsbooks eventually go live.
Industry estimates suggest 20% to 25% of New Jersey handle comes from New York-based bettors. Which companies win the bids, how many total sportsbooks there are and how hard NJ books fight to keep those bettors will determine how New Jersey handle is affected.
