Zona de Azar USA – New Jersey’s Sports Books Close in on $2bn in Nine Months

USA.- March 15th 2019 www.zonadeazar.com New Jersey’s sports books have taken nearly $2bn on sporting events in their first nine months since with February accounting for more than $320m in February bets despite a short month and a predictable post-Super Bowl lull.

FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands continues to dominate the retail market, posting $1.5m in February gross revenue, up from $1.2m in January. FanDuel was followed by Resorts AC’s $142,846.

In all, New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks netted $12.7m in revenue on $320.4m in sports bets, down 16.8 per cent from a record $385.3m wagered in January.

The February handle works out to $46 per adult resident of New Jersey, significantly larger than any other legal sports jurisdiction, other than Nevada.

“Because of the strength of New Jersey’s online product, in-play betting during the Super Bowl was significantly stronger in New Jersey than in other legal markets,” said Dustin Gouker, lead sports betting analyst for PlayNJ.com. “In addition, New Jersey’s sportsbooks saw significant action on other sports, particularly on college basketball and the NBA. It adds up to another very good month for New Jersey even after a somewhat disappointing Super Bowl handle.”

New Jersey’s online sportsbook brands accounted for $258.9m, or 80.8 per cent, of total bets in January, according to official reporting. The state’s retail sportsbooks made up the remaining 20.2 per cent. That compares to 79.2 per cent of total bets flowing through online sportsbooks in January.

“New Jersey’s sports betting market is less driven by major events than in Nevada, and February’s numbers bear that out,” Mr. Gouker said. “The market’s consistency will eventually help New Jersey overtake Nevada as the largest legal sports betting market in the US, which is now more a question of when rather than if.”

FanDuel Sportsbook/Pointsbet overtook DraftKings Sportsbook as the state’s dominant online sportsbook with $6.6m in February gross revenue, up from $5.9m in January. DraftKings Sportsbook fuelled Resorts’ $3.7m in February online gross revenue, down 46 per cent from $6.9m in January.

“DraftKings and FanDuel show few signs of relinquishing their top spots,” Mr. Gouker said. “But with football now over, it will be interesting to see if a change in focus to college basketball and Major League Baseball alters the dynamic in the coming months.”

The extra income from sports betting saw Atlantic City’s nine casinos post an increase of nearly 26 per cent in gambling revenue in February, taking its total to $241m.

“It’s clear the new gaming options and other amenities are continuing to grow the Atlantic City market,” said James Plousis, Chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.

Resorts Casino enjoyed the largest increase, up 24.5 per cent to $14.8m. Other big movers included Caesars who enjoyed an increase of 10.7 per cent to $19.4m, and the Golden Nugget which was up 5.8 per cent to $26.5m.

The market leader remained the Borgata, despite its revenues falling by 7.5 per cent to $54.3m.

Downturns were also recorded at Harrah’s where GGR was down 14.8 per cent to $24m, Bally’s who fell 9.1 per cent to $12.9m and Tropicana who fell by 5.8 per cent to $27.5m. The two newcomers Hard Rock, who generated $22.8m and the Ocean Resort Casino, who earned $14.9m, had nothing to compare their revenues to

A month after crossing the $30m threshold for monthly revenue for the first time, legal online gambling generated $31.8m in February, up 44 per cent from $21.99m in February 2018. Though monthly revenue was down from a record $33.6m in January, the industry generated $1.1m per day in the 28 days of February, even with the 31 days in January.

“New Jersey’s online casinos are among the biggest beneficiaries of legalised sports betting,” said Steve Ruddock, lead online gambling analyst for PlayNJ.com. “Online casino revenue has grown by at least 25 per cent in seven of the eight months since online sportsbooks made their first appearance in the Garden State. It would not be surprising if the industry hits $40m in monthly revenue at some point before 2019 has ended.”

Edited by: Zona de Azar Press www.zonadeazar.com