New Jersey sportsbooks break $1bn barrier in 2018

New Jersey’s sports books took more than $1bn in wagers during 2018, although the state saw a month-on-month drop in both handle and revenue in December.

Figures for December released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show that by the end of the month the sports books had taken handle of $1.25bn since the first wagers were accepted in mid-June. Revenue from sports betting for this period was $94.0m.

The data shows a total of $319.2m was wagered during December, with 76% of bets placed online.

That total handle figure was down slightly from November, by 3.5%, though December has historically been a softer month than November for sportsbooks in Nevada, where betting has been legal since 1949.

Sports betting revenue for New Jersey’s operators was $20.8m, which was down 1.8% on November. Total revenue of $94.0m was generated from June 14, when Governor Phil Murphy placed the first legal bet in the state, to December 31, 2018.

FanDuel, based at Meadowlands, leapfrogged rival DraftKings to become the state’s biggest winner with revenue of $9.1m, up 30% on November and the largest betting revenue figure recorded in New Jersey.

Resorts Digital, which hosts DraftKings, reported revenue of $6.7m, which was down 5.6% from November.

Football was the most popular betting sport in New Jersey in 2018, accounting for $501.0m of all amounts wagered  – 40% of the total – and gross revenue of 22.3m.

Sports betting made up 8.1% of New Jersey’s total gaming revenue of $258.8m during December, which was almost identical to November’s share. Total gaming revenue in December was up 25.1% year-on-year.

The state's regulated iGaming market performed strongly over the month, with revenue up 39.7% to $29.0m. With revenue of $10.2m, Golden Nugget was by far the largest operator, far ahead of the second-placed Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, which generated revenue fo $5.1m in December.

For all forms of gambling, 2018 revenue was up 9.2% year-on-year to $2.90bn, with online gaming contributing $298.7m to this total. Again Golden Nugget contributed the largest share, with full-year revenue of $104.8m, followed by the Borgata with $54.1m. 

Online casino vertical improved by 25% to $277.3m in 2018, while poker fell 12% to $21.4m.

Golden Nugget’s online casino sites reported revenue of $10.2m, beating the previous monthly best for an operator of $9.7m in October 2018.