New Jersey sportsbooks, online casinos turn September into a month of milestones

The first month of the NFL season propelled New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks to a record handle and win in September and past $4 billion in bets since the industry launched in June 2018, according to PlayNJ.com analysts.

“New Jersey more than doubled its handle from September 2018, which is staggering growth,” said Dusin Gouker, lead analyst at PlayNJ.com. “After such an impressive debut, the question now becomes how much room is there to grow? The upward trajectory will continue, it is just a matter of how steep the growth will be.”

In September, bettors made $445.6 million in wagers through New Jersey sportsbooks, a 142% jump from $183.9 million in September 2018, according to official reporting released Tuesday. Those bets yielded a record $37.9 million in revenue, up 59% from $23.9 million in September 2018 and breaking the record $31.7 million set in March. September’s revenue injected $4.5 million into state coffers.

New Jersey reached a number of milestones in September, including:

• $4.2 billion in lifetime handle
• $284.8 million in lifetime sports betting revenue
• $33.5 million in tax revenue collected

In addition, September’s handle bested New Jersey’s previous record of $385.3 million set in January. But as good as September was for New Jersey, its handle is still likely to be shy of Nevada’s, which generated $571 million in September 2018. If so, it will break a string of two consecutive months that New Jersey posted the country’s largest handle.

“Football betting is massive in Nevada, so it won’t be shocking if New Jersey doesn’t overtake the Silver State in September,” Gouker said. “But what September did show us it that football betting is still an overwhelmingly powerful force in New Jersey, and that will help it keep pace.”

$374.3 million in bets were made online in September, accounting for 84% of New Jersey’s handle. That is down from 85% in August.

FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet remains the online market leader, gaining $13.3 million in gross revenue, up from $9.3 million in August. Still driven primarily by DraftKings in September, Resorts license generated $10.7 million, up from $6.7 million in August. But Resorts, which after the launch of Fox Bet on Sept. 13, is now anchored by two of the most recognizable brand names in sports betting. The online market leaders were followed by:

• Monmouth/William Hill/Sugarhouse ($2.4 million, up from $1.4 million in August)
• Ocean Casino/William Hill ($1.3 million, up from $915,129)
• BetMGM/Borgata ($721,801, up from $261,312)
• Caesars Sportsbook/888sport ($486,668, up from $340,832)
• Golden Nugget/BetAmerica ($336,740, up from $181,427)
• Hard Rock/Bet365/Unibet ($178,255, up from $106,487)
• Tropicana/William Hill ($29,783, down from $39,638)

Earlier this month, FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment PLC agreed to buy Stars Group Inc., which operates Fox Bet as a joint venture with Fox Sports. Though the brands will likely remain separate, the merger will create a behemoth in online sports betting.

“The launch of Fox Bet adds another instantly recognizable brand name to New Jersey, and it could eventually challenge the DraftKings and FanDuel brands,” Gouker said. “In the end, though, the merger puts the company that owns both FanDuel and Fox Bet in position to be the big winner.”

FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands posted $3.6 million in September gross revenue, up from $2.6 million in August, to lead retail sportsbooks. FanDuel was followed in gross revenue by:

• Ocean Casino ($1.8 million, up from $353,832 in August)
• Monmouth Park ($996,844, up from $697,075)
• Borgata ($756,416, up from $669,669)
• Resorts AC ($340,117, down from $527,158)
• Bally’s AC ($241,703, down from $278,169)
• Hard Rock AC ($231,150, up from $182,995)
• Tropicana Casino ($170,792, down from $284,335)
• Golden Nugget ($150,698, down from $263,030)
• Harrah’s AC ($118,102, down from $155,715)

Online casinos surpass $300 million in annual revenue for the first time

Another record month in September pushed New Jersey’s online casino and poker industry past the $300 million annual revenue mark for the first time. In September, online casino games and poker generated $41.14 million, up 59% from $25.8 million in September 2018, and edging the $41.1 million gained in August.

The industry has now generated $339 million through the first nine months of the year, easily outpacing the $298.7 million full-year record set in 2018.

With three months to go before the end of the year, online casino games and poker are on pace to surpass $450 million in annual revenue, which would be a 50% gain over 2018.

“The emergence of sports betting over the last year has lifted online casinos more than most would have guessed,” said Eric Ramsey, online gambling analyst for PlayNJ.com. “New Jersey online sportsbooks and online casinos have been aggressive in cross-marketing to sports bettors and casino gamblers, which has benefited the bottom line of both.”

Some other important online casino and poker data from the September report:

• Online casinos generated $6.2 million in tax revenue in September and has now injected $237.3 million into government coffers since launch in November 2013.
• The Golden Nugget generated $15.6 million in September, up from $15 million in August, to easily pace the market. Resorts Digital was second with $8.9 million, up from $7.5 million in August.
• The industry generated $1.4 million per day during the 30 days of September, up from $858,415 per day in September 2018.
• Online casino games generated $39.5 million in September, up from $39.4 million in August. Online poker hit $1.6 million, down from $1.7 million in August.

For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting and online gaming in New Jersey, visit PlayNJ.com/news.

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