New Jersey Sports Betting Handle Sets National Record in September

Article ByStan Fox

October 25, 2020

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Posted in: New Jersey Gambling News, US Sports Betting News

The New Jersey sports betting market has set a new national record in September with around $748 million in betting handle.

According to figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Atlantic City’s nine casinos and the three horseracing tracks took in over $748.6 million in handle. The number comfortably surpassed the national record the Garden State set a month ago. Both August and September figures overshadow the national record Nevada boasted in November 2019 with $614 million in handle.

With the new number, the Garden State has improved its last month’s record by 12.1%. Even August’s score was a national record sports betting handle with $668 million. In July, the state recorded $562 million in bets. The addition of college football and NFL season served to push the market to the record number. The September handle is also 68% up from what New Jersey scored in last September with $445.6 million.

Interestingly, more than 90% was bet online in September, with the mobile handle of $678.7 million.

However, revenue could not hit a new record, as it stood the third-highest total for New Jersey since its launch in 2018. After paying off the winnings, the New Jersey operators kept $45 million from its sports betting industry. Still, it was 14% better than what they earned in August, and 19% higher than in the same period last year.

New Jersey Sports Betting in 2020

From January to September, New Jersey casinos and tracks have taken in almost $3.3 billion in sports wagers alone. These numbers eclipse what Atlantic City used to make in a calendar year from casino games before sports betting was regulated.

For the year-to-date, the state’s betting handle is up around 10% from the first nine months of 2019. Besides, revenue climbed 17% to $223 million. Looking at the previous year’s results, it’s likely that the 2020 handle could have topped $800 million in handle with more college football. In 2019, fans wagered over $188 million on football games. The figure dipped to around $159 million in 2020 because several college conferences either delayed or canceled their fall sports seasons.

‘Other’ Claimed the Lion’s Share

Of the $738 million wagered on sporting events in September, the “other” category took the lion’s share with $208.3 million, making up 28.2% of the overall betting activity.

That is likely due to the NHL Playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals at the end of September. Basketball, too, added roughly $99 million in event handle. In addition, staple baseball had nearly $115 million bet on completed events. However, football accounted for 21.6% of the total, claiming to be the highest-bet single sport.