The coronavirus is dominating the news cycle at the moment.
So, the Garden State could really use a dose of positive NJ sports betting news.
It just so happens the New Jersey of Gaming Enforcement reported that February’s sports betting handle came in at $494.8 million.
Once again, mobile ($436.5 million) accounts for more than 88% of it.
The number is a tad off of January’s $540.1 million. Combined the two months, and the total handle is over $1 billion.
Sports betting revenue came in at $17 million for a 33.5% year-over-year increase.
FanDuel is No. 1 by wide margin
FanDuel Sportsbook remains New Jersey’s top dog. The Meadowlands Racetrack, which also includes PointsBet NJ, reported $10.9 million in revenue.
Resorts Digital, consisting of DraftKings Sportsbook, Fox Bet NJ and the Resorts-branded app, finished a distant second with $4 million in revenue.
Monmouth Park (William Hill NJ (now Caesars NJ), SugarHouse Sportsbook, and theScore Bet) was the only other license holder to report over $1 million in earnings.
The full NJ sports betting rundown
Here is a breakdown of how the 17 NJ mobile apps and 10 retail sportsbooks fared by license holders.
| Property (Online) | Online Revenue | Retail Revenue | February Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bally's (Caesars, 888) | $34,183 | $ 32,199 | $66,382 |
| Borgata (BetMGM, Borgata Sports) | $1,032,920 | ($318,896) | $714,024 |
| Golden Nugget (BetAmerica, GN Online) | ($308,997) | ($135,314) | ($444,311) |
| Hard Rock (Hard Rock online, Bet365 NJ, Unibet) | $96,397 | $19,294 | $115,691 |
| Harrah's | --- | $41,649 | $41,649 |
| Meadowlands (FanDuel, PointsBet) | $9,585,109 | $1,405,688 | $10,990,797 |
| Monmouth (William Hill, now Caesars, SugarHouse, TheScore Bet) | $1,288,603 | ($51,888) | $1,236,715 |
| Caesars (Ocean Resort) | $168,015 | ($65,868) | $102,147 |
| Resorts (DraftKings, Fox Bet, Resorts Online) | $4,008,234 | $47,143 | $4,055, 382 |
| Tropicana (William Hill) | $30,558 | $91,899 | $122,457 |
| TOTAL | $15,935,022 | $1,065,906 | $17,000,928 |
Super Bowl betting recap
The second month of the year opened with one of the year’s biggest sports wagering events. Super Bowl 54 saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20.
More than $54 million in bets were placed. In terms of revenue, however, the 10 license holders took a $4.6 million hit.
So, closing out the year’s shortest month on a high note adds to the positive news.
Coronavirus + NJ sports betting impact
The bigger news of the week centered around the NBA and NHL suspending their respective seasons.
MLB spring training games are postponed, too.
And the major NCAA conference tournaments were all canceled on Thursday. The status of March Madness betting is to be determined. As of now, the tourney games will be played without fans.
Combined, and the betting markets are extremely limited. The return dates for the pro sports leagues are to be determined.
For now, the 17 sportsbook apps are still live and the state’s 10 retail locations remain open.
But like COVID-19, there are a lot of unanswered questions.
For now, $494.8 million has a nice ring to it.