Gamblers wagered $117.4 million on Super Bowl 55 with New Jersey sportsbooks, more than doubling last year’s total.
The Garden State sportsbook handle for this year’s NFL championship game was a 116% increase over the $54.3 million bet on Super Bowl 54.
The books paid out $106.1 million to customers resulting in $11.3 million in revenue, according to preliminary data released Monday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.
The revenue figures include New Jersey’s 12 retail sportsbooks and 19 online operators. The DGE said $99.8 million of the total handle came via online wagering.
Third time’s a charm for NJ sportsbooks
Super Bowl 55 was the first time in three years NJ sportsbooks reported any gaming revenue from the Big Game. The books lost $4.2 million in 2020 and $4.5 million the year before.
New Jersey won big at #SuperBowlLV last night – with preliminary wagering data totaling $117.4 million, a 116% increase from last year’s game.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) February 9, 2021
New Jersey taxes revenue, so the state finally got a cut this year as well.
NJ Sports betting revenue is taxed at 8.5% at retail books and 13% online. While an exact number is not yet available, the state collected anywhere between $960,500 to $1.469 million in taxes from a single sporting event. With better than 90% of all sports wagers in NJ being done online, the state’s take is on the high end of the scale.
NJ Super Bowl betting scene expands
The amount bet on the Super Bowl in NJ has increased each year, as have the number of ways customers can place those wagers.
In 2019, $34.9 million was bet on Super Bowl 53. At the time, the market consisted of 10 retail sportsbooks and 12 online sites.
The number of retail books did not change the next year, but there were seven more online operators in the state.
For this year’s championship game, there were two additional brick-and-mortar books and two more mobile apps.
In 2021, all nine Atlantic City casinos had retail sportsbooks. Bally’s Atlantic City has a temporary shop at the moment while the permanent FanDuel Sportsbook is being constructed.
Freehold Raceway was also a new retail option for this year’s game. It is the third state-licensed racetrack to take legal sports wagers. Freehold has already announced PlayUp will receive one of its three online sports betting skins.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel