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SPORTS BETTING

US – New Jersey sets new sports betting record with $1.3bn October

By - 18 November 2021

New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks set another US record by handling $1.3bn in wagers in October, which led to record revenue, too. Meanwhile, online casinos posted another record month, which made New Jersey along with Pennsylvania the first states to generate $1bn in annual gross revenue from online casino betting.

“Five weekends in October meant an unusual amount of NFL and college football to bet on, and plenty of free time for gamblers to visit Atlantic City, making fresh records inevitable,” said David Danzis, an analyst for PlayNJ.com. “But what will have a longer-lasting effect is if the market for sports betting and online gambling continues to expand while Atlantic City continues to recover following the pandemic. That combination is producing some jaw-dropping results.”

New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks drew $1.3bn in bets in October, easily topping September’s record handle of $1.01bn by 28.9 per cent, according to official reporting released Wednesday. October’s betting volume was up 62.3 per cent from the $803.1m generated in October 2020.

The high betting volume led to a new record in gross gaming revenue, too. Sportsbooks won $84.2m in October, up 43.8 per cent from $58.5m in October 2020 and up 2.1 per cent from $82.4m in September. October’s revenue topped the previous record of $82.6m set in January and yielded $12.7m in state taxes.

Five full weekends of NFL and college football were a boon for sportsbooks, boosting football betting to $499m in October from $400.8m in September. The start of the NBA season helped pour another $156.9m into sportsbooks from basketball and baseball’s postseason ($127.1m) and spurred significant action, too.

“With so much to bet on in October, state records for wagering are falling in every major legal sports betting market in the US,” said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayNJ.com. “New Jersey separates itself because bettor enthusiasm for the NBA outstrips most every other market, which pushes its ceiling during a month like October to heights that were once unreachable in the US.”

Online sportsbooks took in $1.2bn in wagers, accounting for 90.5 per cent of the state’s handle in October. FanDuel/PointsBet/SuperBook continued their dominance of the online market with $39.6m in gross revenue, up from $36.6m in September.

The leaders were followed in revenue by Resorts Digital/DraftKings/Fox Bet and Borgata/BetMGM.

Retail sportsbooks set a record, too, with $124.2m in October, up from $92.7m in wagers in September. Meadowlands/FanDuel led the retail market with $4.5m in revenue.

“More than just a growing base of bettors, online sportsbooks are expanding their reach with in-game betting and prop bets,” Ramsey said. “The result is that bettors are placing more wagers as they become more comfortable with that kind of action.”

New Jersey joined Pennsylvania as the first US states to take in more than $1bn in gross gaming revenue from online casinos and poker rooms in a single year with a record $127m in October. That topped the previous record of $122.6m set just last month, and was up 35.9 per cent from $93.5m in October 2020.

Online casinos and poker rooms have now generated $1.1bn in revenue for the year, easily reaching $1bn in annual revenue for the first time. Pennsylvania ($1.05bn) also went over the $1bn mark for the year after announcing its October gaming data on Wednesday.

“The rise in revenue in all forms shows that each pillar of the state’s gaming industry is benefiting from a rising tide,” Danzis said. “Online gambling has continued to grow since launch, but annual revenue has more than tripled since sports betting launched in 2018. As impressive as $1.1bn in revenue in 10 months is, it might not have gotten there so soon without the legalization of online sports betting.”

Online casinos and poker generated $4.1m in revenue per day over the 31 days of October, up from $3m per day in October 2020, though down from $4.2m per day in September. The revenue from online casinos and poker rooms yielded $19.05m in state and local taxes. Borgata/BetMGM led the market with $38.8m in casino and poker revenue in October. Rival Golden Nugget was second with $34.5m in revenue. Resorts Atlantic City was third with $29.3m.

Online casino games generated $124.6m of October’s revenue, up 37 per cent from $90.9m in October 2020. Online poker generated the remaining $2.4m in revenue, down 3.4 per cent from $2.5m in October 2020.

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