SPORTS BETTING

US – New Jersey enjoys stronger than expected May

By Phil - 17 June 2021

New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks celebrated the third anniversary of sports betting in the state with a surge in wagers to $800m in May, a typically slow month in the sports betting industry.

“Sportsbooks have been able to capitalise on the NBA playoffs to shallow the typical summer slowdown, online casinos continue to generate huge revenue, and Atlantic City is getting busier,” said Dustin Gouker, analyst for PlayNJ.com. “New Jersey’s gaming industry appears healthier than anyone would have thought possible a year ago.”

Bettors placed $814.3m in wagers at New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks in May, according to official data released Wednesday. That is up 591.1 per cent from $117.8m in bets taken in May 2020 and more surprisingly, up 8.9 per cent from $748m in April.

May’s bets produced $52.9m in revenue, up 433.6 per cent from $9.9m in May 2020. The month’s win yielded $7.9m in taxes.

Since launching on June 14, 2018, New Jersey’s sportsbooks have generated $16bn in bets, $1.1bn in gross revenue, and $159.4m in taxes. From June 2018 through April 2021, Nevada took in $14.5m in bets and $909.3m in operator revenue.

“New Jersey’s sports betting market has not only grown into the largest in the US, but it has evolved into the state that is least affected by the seasonality of sports betting,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayNJ.com. “No market can entirely escape the natural ebbs and flows, of course. But New Jersey is less reliant on football and sports betting holidays than any other major US market.”

Online betting accounted for 90.2 per cent, or $736.7m, of the state’s total handle in May. Retail sportsbooks took in $79.6m wagers in May, up 43.7 per cent from $55.4m in May 2019.

The biggest draw was the NBA, which piqued bettors’ interest with playoff appearances by the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and Philadelphia 76ers. In all, basketball betting produced $216.7m in bets, up from the $176.2m in April.

“Success from regional teams almost always gives a market a boost, and basketball is particularly popular with New Jersey bettors,” Mr. Gouker said. “Even more, after a year of strict capacity limits and with so many regional favorites in the NBA Playoffs, bettors seemed particularly motivated to get out and place a bet. All of it is great news for a gaming market on the mend.”

FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet topped online operators with $29.8m in gross revenue. Meadowlands/FanDuel led all retail books with $4.8 million in revenue in May.

Online casinos and poker rooms enjoyed its third consecutive month with more than $100m in revenue with $108.2m in May, up 0.4 per cent from $107.7m in April. Year-over-year, online casino and poker revenue is up 25.9 per cent from $85.9m in May 2020. May’s revenue yielded $18.9m in state and local taxes.

Borgata continued to hold its online market lead with $32.8m in casino and poker revenue in May, edging Golden Nugget’s $31.1m.

“Even as Atlantic City lifts pandemic-related limits and retail revenue slowly returns, online casinos continue to hold onto the gains made over the last year,” Ramsey said. “Online revenue has clearly been resilient, but hopefully the retail market can sustain this return to pre-pandemic levels.”