NJ Sports Betting Grows 24% Despite NY Launch

New Jersey sports betting has seen nearly 24% growth, refuting the earlier calculations that the NY market would eclipse it.

According to the official report released Monday, New Jersey sportsbooks in April saw $926.9 million in the combined handle, up 23.9% from $746.8 million in April 2021. However, the April number represented a 17.3% month-over-month decrease – an expected slowdown in the wake of the slower US sports betting calendar.

April is the first month of the slower calendar – also called the summer slump – which traditionally stays until September’s NFL kickoff.

NJ sportsbook revenue was $50.3 million, down 8.2% in the year-over-year comparison. Despite a 24% increase in the handle, the shrinking revenue was due to a stronger hold last year. NJ operators held 7.3% last year, compared to 5.4% this April.

April’s handle was down 17.3% from March’s 1.1 billion and was the lowest since $664.7 million in handle last August.

The NJ sportsbooks had posted nearly $1.35 billion in handle this January – the record total for the Garden State in a single month.

NJ Sports Betting Shrugs Off NY Market

NJ’s mobile and retail sportsbooks generated $926.9 million in handle in April. It came despite New York’s online sports betting launch in early January, which has since dethroned its neighboring NJ as the nation’s top sports betting market.

New York online sportsbooks, which kicked off January 8, reported a $1.39 billion in handle last month. The Empire State also benefited from an above-average hold percentage (7.5%) for $104.1 million in April.

While NY has emerged to be the biggest market from the first month’s handle report, it is largely unfair to compare the two market-leading states when it comes to comparing tax revenue.

NJ’s open market generated $6.4 million in taxes for April, with a competitive average of 13% for mobile and 8.5% for retail betting. In contrast, NY’s eight operators paid $53.1 million in a rather close market with a 51% rate.

The average national sports betting revenue is somewhere between 10% to 15%.

Basketball Beats Others Sports & Sportsbooks in April

Basketball led the April chart for NJ sports betting, with the last three games for March Madness wagering and the kickoff of the NBA Playoffs coinciding in the month.

However, basketball’s $323.4 million of handle led to just $8.4 million in operator’s revenue, thanks to just a 2.6% hold on completed events.

Football reported a loss of around $1.5 million for April, with an $8.4 million handle between the NFL Draft and USFL games.

Parlays Came to Rescue for NJ operators’ Revenue

Parlays did the heavy lifting for NJ operators’ revenue in April. Typically the most profitable wager type for sportsbooks parlays allowed operators to hold 17.9% on completed bets (parlays) last month for $35.2 million in revenue on $197.3 million in completed parlay bets.

The next highest hold was reported for baseball and the “other” categories at 2.9%.

Baseball took in $177.9 million in bets, resulting in a mere $5.2 million in revenue. The ‘other” category saw $223 million in completed bet results and $6.5 million in revenue.

Meadowlands Partner Lead NJ Sportsbook Revenue

NJ mobile sports betting accounted for $863.1 million in handle – or 93.1% of the total handle last month. Online operators generated $46.3 million in revenue on those bets.

The Meadowlands sports betting partners – FanDuel, PointsBet, and SuperBook – combined for $33.3 million in revenue for April. The three online operators also topped the mobile market with $29.2 million in revenue.

Resorts Digital followed next as a distant second with the highest monthly revenue at $7.4 million. DraftKings and FoxBET are partnered with the Resorts.

Borgata rounded out the top third with $4.5 million in revenue, thanks to the casino’s own digital brand and BetMGM.

Meanwhile, NJ retail sports betting posted $63.8 million in total bets, with retail operators winning $4 million.