NJ Sportsbooks Hit Non-Football High; Online Casinos Set Another Revenue Record

Written By Play NJ Staff on April 18, 2022
March 2022 NJ sports betting

New Jersey’s sportsbooks maintain 30% year-over-year growth despite increased competition

(ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.) — The NCAA Tournament helped fuel $1.1 billion in wagers at New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks, while online casinos set a state record in March for monthly revenue with more than $140 million. March’s sports betting results show continued growth in the face of competition from New York while online casino revenue continues to be a major benefit to the state, according to Play NJ, which tracks gaming developments in the state.

“In a changing landscape, New Jersey’s sportsbooks were still able to post their best handle in a month without football,” said David Danzis, an analyst for play-nj.com. “Increased competition from New Jersey’s neighbors is inevitably going to affect the state’s sportsbooks, but it continues only to be at the margins. The state’s own bettors have proven a powerful force on their own.”

New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks accepted $1.1 billion in bets in March, up 30.7% from $859.6 billion in March 2021 and up 13.7% from $985.6 billion in February, according to official reporting released Monday. New Jersey sportsbooks have now taken in $25.6 billion in wagers since New Jersey was among the first in the U.S. to launch sports betting in 2018.

New Jersey has much more competition than those earliest days, but significant increases in wagering have continued. In January, the first month of legal online sports betting in New York, wagering at New Jersey sportsbooks grew 40.7% compared with January 2021. In February, year-over-year growth slowed to 32.7%.

Sportsbooks won $66.4 million in revenue from March’s bets, up 9.5% from $60.8 million in March 2021 and up 115.1% from $30.9 million in February. March’s win yielded $9.1 million in state and local taxes.

The NCAA Tournament was the main draw in March. Basketball betting — which includes the NBA as well as men’s and women’s college basketball — attracted $667.3 million in straight wagers. That was up 51.1% from $441.7 million in March 2021 and up 32.6% from $503.1 million over the 28 days of February.

New Jersey’s sportsbooks could have even taken in even more. With St. Peter’s historic run to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight, local bettors had plenty of motivation to place a wager on March Madness. But with the state’s ban on wagering on in-state college teams, those wagers ended up with sportsbooks in New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

“With St. Peter’s off the boards, a small chunk of in-state wagering flowed out of New Jersey and into neighboring states,” Danzis said. “That hasn’t happened much in the history of New Jersey’s gaming industry. But it shows that decisions made in the past can affect the state’s sportsbooks now that they find themselves in a more competitive environment.”

Online sportsbooks attracted $1.04 billion in wagers, or 92.9% of the state’s March handle. FanDuel/PointsBet/SuperBook topped the online market with $33.7 million in gross revenue, up from $14.0 million in February. DraftKings/Fox Bet followed with $8.6 million in revenue.

Meanwhile, retail sportsbooks won $5.2 million on $79.5 million in bets. Meadowlands Racetrack/FanDuel regained its retail market perch with $3.2 in revenue.

“Traditionally, the popularity of the NBA has helped New Jersey sportsbooks fare well during the slower season of sports betting that begins in April,” said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes play-nj.com. “But there are a lot of basketball fans in New York that no longer have to cross state lines, so the seasonality of sports betting could be a bit more pronounced this year.”

Online casinos and poker

New Jersey’s online casinos and poker rooms continued surging in March, crossing the $140 million threshold for the first time with a record $140.7 million in online gambling revenue. March’s win was up 23.7% from the then-record $113.7 million in March 2021 and up 8.2% from $130.0 million in February.

For the first time in years, a monthly record in New Jersey wasn’t also a U.S. record. Pennsylvania announced earlier on Monday that its online casinos and poker rooms had won $142.7 million in March.

Over the 31 days of March, online casinos and poker rooms averaged $4.5 million in revenue per day. That was down from $4.6 million per day over the 28 days of February. Ultimately, March’s revenue generated $24.6 million in state and local taxes.

The continued race for market share was led again in March by Borgata, which generated a record $41.4 million in casino and poker revenue. Golden Nugget was second with $38.3 million and Resorts Atlantic City was No. 3 with $30.8 million.

“One of the most remarkable changes over the last two years is just how competitive the online market has gotten,” Danzis said. “It was just a couple of years ago when the Golden Nugget license was easily the most dominant player in the online market. Since then, operators have increased attention on the segment, which has helped online casinos capture an increasing share of the overall gaming portfolio in New Jersey.”

Other highlights from March’s report:

  • Online casino games produced $138.1 million in revenue, up 24.5% from $111.0 million in March 2021.
  • Online poker generated $2.5 million in revenue, down 6.3% from $2.7 million in March 2021

For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting and online gaming, visit play-nj.com/news. Contact: Zack Hall, Catena Media, [email protected]

 

 

 

Photo by AP/Gene J. Puskar
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