NJ Sports Revenue Soars to $24 Million in September

Having launched its sports betting market in mid-June, New Jersey attracted $40.6 million in wagers and recorded $3.8 million in revenue during its first full month of operation in July. Since then, the industry has begun to return exponential growth, and after reporting $95.6 million in bets and revenue of $9.2 million in August, the state’s latest figures have seen that amount more than double to $184 million in wagers and $24 million in revenue for September.

Last month, Atlantic City’s nine casinos also generated a further $231.9 million in revenue, up by 7.7% year-over-year, which once online gambling ($25.7) and sports betting ($24m) is added shoots up to $281.7 million, marking a massive 19.5% improvement from September 2017. Commenting upon the extraordinarily positive results, David Rebuck, Director of the DGE, stated:

“Driven by the explosive growth in sports wagering and continuing improvements in Internet gaming and brick-and-mortar casino win results, the gaming industry produced another month of superb revenue increases. The revenue results point to a strong finish for New Jersey’s gaming industry in 2018.”

Story So Far

Since  launching legal sports betting four months ago, the New Jersey’s nascent market has attracted $336 million in bets, resulting in $40.4 million in revenue. From that tally, the state’s coffers have received tax revenue in excess of $4 million, of which $2.6 million was collected in September alone.

Football Catalyst for Growth

The start of the NFL season helped boost last month’s figures, with football accounting for a whopping $90 million of the $184 million wagered in September. Meanwhile, baseball was the second most popular sport for bettors, followed by basketball in third. Parlay betting also contributed to the overall impressive numbers, as did ‘other sports’ such as soccer and golf.

Online Betting King

A trend becoming apparent is that the majority of sports bettors prefer to wager via mobile platforms or over the internet rather than traveling to a casino or racetrack to place their bets. In September, for instance, 57% ($105m) of all bets were placed online, while $76 million was taken over the counter by land-based betting operations.

Out of the $336 million that has been wagered since the industry was launched, $210 million (62%) has now been made via online platforms. Moreover, that figure is expected to rise going forward as more mobile sports betting apps are released in the coming months.

DraftKings and FanDuel

DraftKings and FanDuel have emerged as early leaders in NJ’s sports betting market, with their expertise in the daily fantasy sport sector and their ability to engage players giving them a sizable edge over their competitors. Case in point, they accounted for $15.7 million of the $24 million in revenue collected during September.

From that amount, DraftKings and its partner Resorts Digital generated revenue of $8.5 million, while FanDuel and Meadowlands racetrack reported $7.2 million. As a result, DraftKings currently commands a 35.4% share of the market, while FanDuel is not far behind with a 30% share. Commenting upon last month’s results, a FanDuel statement read:

“As our retail Sportsbook at the New Meadowlands Racetrack grows and with the launch of the FanDuel Sportsbook app, consumer response continued to exceed our expectations in September. We are encouraged to see strong momentum in New Jersey for the newly formed FanDuel Group.”

Land-Based Venues

Racetracks ruled the roost last month, with the Meadowlands Racetrack seeing its month-on-month revenue jump around 35% to $4.37 million, of which $2.85 million was derived via its online operation. The Monmouth Park, too, generated a solid $2.138 million (+81%), with $70,785 of that amount placed online.

As far as the states casinos are concerned, Borgata led the way after earning $2.5 million in revenue, followed by the Ocean Resort ($1.3m), and the Golden Nugget ($1.1m). The state’s other licensed operators produced lesser results, including Bally’s ($394,046), and Harrah’s ($310,766), and Resorts ($279,492).