New Jersey sports betting racks up almost $1bn in handle during December
Sports wagering revenue also hits all-time high as online gaming GGR falls just shy of $100m for the first time
Sports bettors in New Jersey staked a record $996.3m (£730m) in handle in December, up 7% on the previous all-time high of $931m achieved in November.
It means sports betting handle in the Garden State for the whole of 2020 was $6bn – a rise of around a third on the $4.6bn gambled in 2019.
December capped eight months of consecutive growth, while online and mobile accounted for 94% of all handle in 2020 due in part to coronavirus and closures of land-based sports betting venues.
Meanwhile, the state’s sportsbooks achieved revenue in December of $66.4m, which was another record for New Jersey, outstripping October’s $58.5m, and it equated to a hold of 6.6%. Taxes collected were $7.6m.
NEW: For a fourth straight month, New Jersey breaks the all-time record for monthly sports betting handle, with nearly $1B wagered in December. The month also marked a new U.S. record for the Garden State in monthly sports betting revenue, with sportsbooks bringing in $67M. pic.twitter.com/EL6bNLCB5P
— American Gaming Association (@AmericanGaming) January 13, 2021
Sports betting revenue for the entire year came in at $398.5m, up from $299m in 2019, which translates to a hold of 6.6% for 2020.
The Meadowlands, partnered with FanDuel Sportsbook and PointsBet, recorded the most revenue at $33.2m, followed by Resorts Digital (mainly DraftKings Sportsbook and Fox Bet) with $15.4m. FanDuel and DraftKings account for the lion’s share of revenue on those licences.
Borgata and BetMGM notched up revenue of $7.5m, ahead of Monmouth Park and Ocean Casino licensees with $4.2m and $3.5m respectively.
On the igaming front, gross gaming revenue (GGR) for online casino and poker combined soared to a new high of $99.5m. Casino accounted for 97% of this total, bringing in GGR of $96.4m.
December’s GGR comfortably beat November’s $91.8m and easily outpaced the previous record of $93.5m in October and the $49.3m reported in December 2019.
Once again, the Golden Nugget licence led the way with $29.4m of GGR, yet its four-year lead is being eaten away by Borgata with GGR of $27.1m, a record high for this licence.
Resorts Digital’s GGR in December was $21m, while the distant chasing pack was headed by Caesars ($8.9m), Tropicana ($6m), Hard Rock ($5.8m) and Ocean Casino ($1.1m).
With 2020 complete, data from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement shows that online gaming GGR for the whole year finished on $970m – an increase of 101% over 2019.
On top of this, New Jersey generated $192.5m in taxes from sports betting and online gaming combined during 2020.