New Jersey Posts $748M Sports Betting Handle in April

Despite a typically slow month, New Jersey sports betting saw $748 million handle in April, representing a whopping 1270% year-over-year increase. However, the monthly handle was 13% down from March that recorded $859.6 million in handle, thanks to NCAA Basketball Tournament. New Jersey, the nation’s largest sports betting market, had hit the highest handle record of $996.3 million in US sports betting in December 2020.

According to figures released Friday, the Garden State still crossed $15 billion in lifetime handle mark, $1 billion in revenue, and $150 million in state taxes. New Jersey is again leading during April among states that reported their handles to date.

Mobile sports betting accounted for 91% of the total sports betting handle in April.

Revenue Detail

Operators reported $54.8 million in revenue for the month, for a 7.3% hold rate. It represented a 9.9% decline from March’s $60.8 million. The state generated $8.1 million in taxes, including $1.3 million in local taxes.

New Jersey’s gross sportsbook revenue reached $244.2 million for the first four months of the year.

Total gaming revenue for the Garden state was $352.2 million for the month, down 2% month-over-month, and up 326.5% year-over-year.

Mobile Sports Betting Remains Solid

Mobile sports betting handle dominated New Jersey sports betting again in April with 91% of the total action. More than $681 million was wagered online, representing 12.7% from March’s $780.1 million, and a whopping 1148% increase from April 2020 ($2.6 million).

New Jersey retail sports betting generated $66.8 million in April, down from $79.5 million a month ago. Meadowlands/FanDuel led retail sports betting with $3.6 million in revenue for the month.

But retail betting is likely to improve in the coming days when all capacity restrictions are removed, said Dustin Gouker, analyst for PlayNJ.com. But he added that it wouldn’t make any major difference for mobile sports betting, which are “overwhelmingly preferred by bettors.”

FanDuel Retains the Crown

FanDuel and PointsBet- the Meadowlands’ joint partners- led New Jersey sports betting in a combined action drawing $29.1 million in revenue. Nearly 90% of that amount belongs to the New York-based company.

DraftKings and FOX Bet- the digital partners of Resorts Digital- drew $12.4 million in sportsbook revenue, with Boston-based giant bringing in more than 90% of the share.

Borgata and BetMGM rounded up the third spot in a joint revenue of $6.8 million.

Monmouth Park- with its three online partners William Hill, SugarHouse, and theScore- generated $2.4 million. Ocean- through William Hill and Tipico- took in $1.8 million in revenue.

Basketball Tops the Trend in New Jersey

Basketball was the top sport in New Jersey sports betting in April, with operators winning almost $7 million on basketballs for the month. The NCAA Tournament finished up with the Final Four in April.

 The Garden State does not allow betting on in-state teams.

Parlays bets amounted to more than $30 million in wins.

Gouker said that New Jersey sports betting was not affected as much in terms of month-over-month decline as other states witnessed during April. The reason he explained was that unlike other legal sports betting states, New Jersey “has never been quite as reliant on football.”

What’s Next?

New Jersey may have seen its zenith. Though it may continue to lead the US sports betting, its future growth depends on how New York rolls out its mobile sports betting plans.

According to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, nearly 20% of New Jersey sports betting handle comes through the New York market, meaning the Garden State’s monopoly on mobile sports betting in the Empire State could be no more in the coming months.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the fiscal 2022 budget in April that also included mobile sports betting, with New York lawmakers hoping to see the Super Bowl as a benchmark to kick off New York mobile sports betting.

Eric Ramsey, another analyst from PlayNJ.com, notes that New Jersey appears untouchable as the nation’s largest market “until New York launches its sports betting industry.”