The New Jersey sports betting industry has established itself as the measuring stick with which other states rolling out regulated markets compare.
In October, however, NJ sports betting took had arguably its first brutal month since launching in June.
NJ sports betting revenue falls for the first time
According to figures released Thursday by the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement, retail and mobile sportsbooks took in more than $260 million in wagers last month, up nearly $80 million from September.
Yet overall revenue dipped to $11.7 million, less than half the total reported the previous month.
In five months of operations, including four full months, NJ sportsbooks have taken in a whopping $597,368,230 in wagers, resulting in nearly $52 million in revenue.
Still, sportsbooks across the board, save for a few online products, saw revenues drop drastically in October.
DraftKings, FanDuel carry mobile load
While mobile revenue fell off a cliff from September’s $23.96 million, handle made another big push.
The $174.37 million in online handle reflects a jump of nearly $70 million month-over-month. That total itself nearly matched the total handle, mobile and retail, of $183.95 million in September.
Of the $8.8 million in mobile revenue last month, DraftKings Sportsbook and BetStars NJ, operating under the Resorts Atlantic City, accounted for $5,090,253. The majority of that total, to be sure, belongs to DraftKings, which reported $8.5 million in September.
From DraftKings Senior Director of Digital Sportsbook Operations Jamie Shea, in a statement to Legal Sports Report:
“Since launching DraftKings Sportsbook in August, we continue to exceed our internal projections. We’ve paid out more than $150 million to winning bettors in New Jersey, and even in an increasingly competitive market, our customer retention rate remains strong. We plan to build on this initial success in the coming months as we unveil exciting new features to our Sportsbook product.”
The online revenue, featuring the first full month of eight mobile products, was down from the previous month’s $12.6 million.
FanDuel Sportsbook, meanwhile, totaled $2.43 million in October revenue, just $400,000 down from September’s total.
As for the other mobile sportsbooks, noting that William Hill (Caesars NJ) splits its reported revenue between partners Ocean Resort Casino and Monmouth Park:
- William Hill (as reported by Monmouth): $608,611
- William Hill (as reported by Ocean Resort): $385,641
- SugarHouse Sportsbook: $151,446
- Caesars Sportsbook/888 Sportsbook: $108,359
- playMGM: $66,924
Midway through October, SugarHouse jumped from Golden Nugget’s license to that of Monmouth Park, allowing the mobile sportsbook to offer NBA wagers. It is not clear if, or how, that change affected October totals. A message to the DGE went unreturned.
Retail has lowest revenue since launch
Even in New Jersey’s first month, during which the longest-open sportsbook operated for a mere 17 days, NJ sports betting generated $3.46 million in revenue.
In October, with nine sportsbooks open, brick-and-mortar sportsbooks reported the state’s lowest revenue total since launching.
Of the $2.8 million reported, Meadowlands Racetrack accounted for $1.11 million.
Since opening in July, Meadowlands has accumulated $9.9 million in revenue, a full $3.2 million ahead of Monmouth Park, which opened a month earlier.
Speaking of Monmouth, the racetrack reported $606,981 in October revenue, while Ocean Resort totaled $438,552.
Borgata experienced a heavy dropoff month-to-month. After a $2,394,106 September, the casino reported a mere $120,288 last month. Rounding out the nine sportsbooks was Tropicana, which opened its space in late-October, with $15,314.
As for the remaining retail sportsbooks with October revenue:
- Bally’s: 303,240
- Harrah’s: 104,448
- Resorts: 97,313
- Golden Nugget: 46,109
NJ sports betting takeaways
Naturally, football has become the driving force for NJ sports betting. While the sport pushed October handle to unprecedented levels, it certainly did not help revenue.
Throughout the month, sportsbooks endured loss after loss. Specifically, Week 9 of the NFL season proved difficult.
As Rush Street Interactive COO Mattias Stetz said in a weekly SugarHouse Sportsbook update:
“In a great weekend of NFL matchups, the players had their best week of the season as it was one of the worst weeks for sportbooks in recent memory.”
Despite bettor-friendly month, the industry still shows signs of more growth. After all, overall handle last month swelled by nearly $80 million from September.
Mobile sportsbooks accounted for 66.9 percent of overall handle in October.
Last month’s revenue figures could likely be anomalous. Obviously, when November figures get posted next month, a clearer picture could take shape.