NJ sports betting handle topped $1 billion for the seventh time, but the state is still bleeding handle.
New Jersey sportsbooks reported $1.06 billion in October. That is up 22.3% from September’s handle but down 18.6% from last October.
Given that mobile NY sports betting launched in January 2022, the dip likely can be attributed to two issues: New Yorkers staying home to place their bets and, to a lesser extent, fewer promos offered by sportsbooks.
New York’s impact on New Jersey becomes a bit more obvious when looking at Pennsylvania‘s results. PA sportsbooks, which typically trended the same way as neighboring NJ’s market, saw 2.7% handle growth in October.
NJ-NY sports betting comparison
That $1.06 billion in handle led to $77.9 million in revenue on a 7.3% hold, according to the state report. Revenue was also down 7.4% year-over-year.
Sportsbooks paid $9.9 million in taxes to the state.
That handle is 45.6% lower than the $1.544 billion New York’s nine mobile sportsbooks handled in October. NY sportsbooks also hit a record $145.7 million in revenue which translated to $74.3 million in tax revenue with its 51% tax rate.
NJ sports betting event breakdown
There was $1.068 billion in completed event handle in October, with football expectedly taking the lead.
Completed football bets, likely led by NFL betting, totaled $414.2 million. Sportsbooks did not fare as well as they did in September as they held just 3.5% for $14.6 million in revenue.
As usual, operators cleaned up on parlays, which ranked second with $264.7 million in handle. Sportsbooks held 21.6% of that revenue for $57.2 million.
The other category ($149.9 million) topped basketball ($141 million) by nearly $9 million in handle. Books lost $460,855 on basketball while other sports brought in $7.5 million on a 5% hold rate.
Could NY market get even tougher?
New York maintaining the top spot in US sports betting comes despite sportsbooks treading carefully with promotions in the market because of that 51% tax rate.
Operators could get a little life breathed back into them next year, though.
FanDuel President Christian Genetski said during the brand’s Capital Markets Day last week that he expects a bill in New York next year that would propose adding more mobile licenses while lowering the tax rate.
