A look at the boom of New Jersey sportsbooks

A wave of sports bettors poured into New Jersey’s sportsbooks in September 2018 as wagers climbed 92.3 percent and gross revenue jumped 161 percent from August 2018. This rapidly put the state’s fledgling gambling industry on course to become the nation’s largest sports betting market, according to analysts from PlayNJ.com, a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States.

Said Dustin Gouker, lead sports betting analyst for PlayNJ.com: “After seeing September, it is a very real possibility that New Jersey [home of the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets and the MLS' New York Red Bulls] could surpass Nevada as the country’s largest sports betting market by the end of the year.

Gouker continued: “With New Jersey’s population base, it is hard to see where the ceiling is right now. Even when Pennsylvania launches sports betting, New Jersey should continue its upward swing.”

September 2018 marked the first month of the NFL season, and New Jersey’s sportsbooks responded with $23.96 million in gross revenue and $183.94 million in wagers, according to official reporting released. In August 2018, sportsbooks generated $9.1 million in gross revenue on $95.6 million in wagers. By comparison, Nevada had accepted $558.2 million in wagers a year ago in September 2017.

As the market matures, New Jersey’s sports betting industry is expected to generate more than $500 million in annual revenue, according to PlayNJ.com analysts. “The sharp growth in September was not unexpected,” Gouker added. “But as powerful as September’s numbers were, there is still so much more room for growth. As more online and land-based sportsbooks hit the market, and customers become more familiar with the products, wagering will rapidly expand.”

FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands remained the market leader among retail sportsbooks, posting $4.4 million in September gross revenue, up from $3.1 million. FanDuel was followed in gross revenue by:

• Borgata ($2.4 million)
• Monmouth Park ($2.2 million)
• Ocean Resort Casino ($999,858)
• Golden Nugget ($499,414)
• Bally’s AC ($394,046)
• Harrah’s AC ($310,766)
• Resorts AC ($279,492)

DraftKings Sportsbook — which operates under the Resorts license, along with BetStars, and generates some 90 percent of Resorts online revenue — established itself in September 2018 as the top online sports betting site among the eight in the state. DraftKings fueled Resorts online gross revenue growth to $8.5 million from $2.97 in August. DraftKings was followed in gross revenue by:

• FanDuel Sportsbook ($2.9 million)
• SugarHouse Sportsbook ($619,030)
• Ocean Resort/William Hill (292,081)
• playMGM/Borgata ($120,938)
• Caesars Sportsbook and 888sport ($106,463)
• Monmouth/William Hill ($70,785)

Meanwhile, New Jersey’s online casinos generated $25.7 million in September 2018 gross revenue, up 3.8 percent from $24.8 million in August 2018 and just short of the record of $25.9 million set in July. September 2018’s total was up 26.3 percent from the prior September.

Some other important online gambling data from the September 2018 report issued:

• Online casinos generated $4.5 million in September tax revenue. Online casinos have now generated $164 million in total tax revenue for New Jersey since launch in November 2013.
• The industry generated $858,415 per day in the 30 days in September, up from $800,147 per day in the 31 days in August.
• Market leader Golden Nugget — home to the Golden Nugget, Betfair, and SugarHouse online casino brands — generated $9.3 million in September, up from $8.2 million in August.
• Online casino games generated $24.1 million in September, up from $22.99 million in August. Online poker hit $1.6 million in September, down from $1.8 million in August.

For more statistics, information and analysis on regulated online gaming in New Jersey, you can visit PlayNJ.com.