New Jersey‘s sportsbooks and online casinos finished 2019 with a flourish according to figures published by the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement. Retail and online sportsbooks, combined with online casinos and poker, generates nearly $800m in revenue in 2019, sending New Jersey into 2020 with plenty of momentum, according to analysts at PlayNJ.com.
The state’s online and retail sportsbooks netted $557.8m in bets in December, short of the record $562.2m handle achieved in November, however December 2019’s handle was up 74.7% from $319.2m year-on-year.
Revenue from sportsbooks reached $29.4m, down from $32.9m in November and up 41.4% from $20.8m year-on-year, yielding $3.7m in tax revenue for the state.
“Online sports betting and casino gambling should continue on or near its current growth trajectory in 2020,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayNJ.com. “Online growth will continue to be a net win for New Jersey’s gaming industry.”
For 2019, New Jersey’s sportsbooks combined to generate $4.6bn in bets. Of that $3.8bn, or 83.7%, was generated online. Revenue for the year was $299.4m, including $244.5m online. State tax revenue amounted to $36.5m in 2019.
While New Jersey has performed strongly, it fell short of Nevada in the race to become the largest US sports betting jurisdiction. The Silver State generated $4.7bn in bets through November.
That situation could change according to PlayNJ.com analyst Eric Ramsey. “2019 could very well go down as the last year that New Jersey was eclipsed by Nevada,” he said. “From its proximity to the New York market to its pioneering online sports betting infrastructure, New Jersey’s positives as a sports betting market will continue to fuel its growth.”
In December, online betting generated $488.9m, or 87.6% of the state’s handle, up from 86.5% in November. FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet continued to set the pace in the online market, tallying $12.1m in gross revenue, down from $12.2m in November. FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands led the retail market with $2.4m in November gross revenue.
“In addition to constant growth, one of the constants in New Jersey’s sports betting market has been FanDuel’s dominance,” Gouker said. “The brands under Resorts Digital have made it a relatively close second in the online market, but it has proven difficult to overcome FanDuel’s advantages, despite the brand recognition that comes from DraftKings and Fox Bet.”
