The streak of seven straight months of a $300-million plus NJ sports betting handle is over. But don’t despair. June’s handle puts New Jersey at $3 billion overall handle since launch.
June numbers from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement are out, and the total handle came in at $273,222,975. And like previous months, the majority of it ($226,702,566) is from mobile, accounting for nearly 83%.
Meanwhile, sports betting revenue in NJ came in at just $9,701,925.
This slows down May’s momentum in which New Jersey outpaced Nevada in overall handle for the first time. But that’s also nothing to cry about. In fact, Nevada usually posts just under $300 million in June, too.
The leaders of the pack stay the same
June will be chalked up as one of those down months, which are common during the dog days of summer when sports events are fairly limited. None of the 10 license holders hit $5 million in revenue.
Just like the rest of the year, the Meadowlands Racetrack led the way with $4,382,043. FanDuel Sportsbook accounted for the majority of that number, but some of it was from PointsBet NJ.
Resorts Digital (DraftKings Sportsbook, BetStars NJ and Resorts) generated $2,687,946.
And it seems momentum is picking up at Ocean Casino Resort. Revenue from the William Hill Sportsbook (now Caesars Sportsbook NJ) hit $972,487.
Here’s a closer look at the June revenue numbers:
| Property (Online) | Online Revenue | Retail Revenue | June Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bally's (Caesars, 888) | $26,752 | $38,061 | $64,813 |
| Borgata (playMGM, Borgata Sports) | $(32,882) | $ 97,131 | $64,249 |
| Golden Nugget (BetAmerica, GN Online) | $37,515 | $115,428 | $152,943 |
| Hard Rock (Hard Rock online) | $24,443 | $(28,698) | ($4,255) |
| Harrah's | ----- | $12,585 | $12,585 |
| Meadowlands (FanDuel, PointsBet) | $2,725,594 | 1,656,449 | $4,382,043 |
| Monmouth (William Hill, now Caesars, SugarHouse) | $ 718,131 | $ 527,588 | $1,245,719 |
| Caesars (Ocean Resort) | $793,682 | $178,805 | $972,487 |
| Resorts (DraftKings, BetStars, Resorts Online) | $2,687,946 | $34,220 | $2,722,166 |
| Tropicana (William Hill) | $10,329 | $78,846 | $89,175 |
| TOTAL | $6,991,510 | $2,710,415 | $9,701,925 |
Borgata and Monmouth Park: one year later
It was June 14 of last year when retail sports betting got off the ground in the Garden State.
Monmouth Park and Borgata Atlantic City accepted legal sports wagers for the first time.
How are things looking a year later, granted over a shorter time period? Both properties fared much better the first time around.
Borgata reported $64,249 in revenue for June. The opening month of 2018 generated $986,831. And that was prior to the playMGM sportsbook and BorgataSports apps launching.
Monmouth Park saw a significant drop, too. Last month produced $1,245,719 compared to $2,279,166 from a year ago.
But the market is completely different today. The biggest factor is NJ online sports betting didn’t launch until August of last year. There are now 14 apps on the market and those apps get the lion’s share of bettors’ attention.
Also keep in mind New Jersey now has 10 permanent sportsbooks. This time last year, temporary spaces were still under construction at the casinos.
PA sportsbooks crash the party
Another factor heading into football season is that New Jersey now has some fresh competition. Pennsylvania online sports betting is officially live.
PlaySugarHouse PA (not to be confused with the NJ version operating under the Monmouth Park license) led the way on May 31.
Parx Casino Sportsbook and BetRivers went live June 27. The PA versions of FanDuel and Harrah’s sportsbooks are still targeted for a summer launch.
Of course, PA is a much smaller market at this point in terms of offerings. And none of the platforms are available for iOS just yet.
It’s possible that there was some impact in NJ as bettors along the border chose to use a PA app rather than an NJ one. However, we will likely get a better idea once football season rolls around.
The road to $3 billion
New Jersey is not about to rest on its laurels going forward.
There are at least three new mobile offerings coming from Unibet NJ and Bet365 NJ (both under the Hard Rock Atlantic City license) and theScore (via Monmouth Park).
Plus, there are new retail locations in Atlantic City that customers will want to check out at Bally’s, Borgata and Harrah’s.
The casino floors will likely make the bigger headlines for July and August. But come September, NJ sports betting will be geared up for the busiest season.
And come the fall, NJ will likely surge past $3 billion in overall handle for 2019 alone. The number currently sits at $1.9 billion with six months remaining.