New Jersey became the first state to eclipse $50 billion in sports betting handle since the repeal of PASPA thanks to slightly over $1 billion in bets being taken in April. On the operator front, PointsBet continues to upset the apple cart.
The latest figures from the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement showed a $1.04 billion total handle for the state’s sportsbooks last month, a 25.2% increase on last April but down 21.4% from March 2024. That takes the Garden State to nearly $51 billion in total handle since launching legal sports betting in June 2018. Around 92%, some $46.7 billion, has come through sports betting apps.
In terms of sports betting revenue, New Jersey made $106.2 million of GGR last month on a 10.2% hold for operators, taking its all-time total to $3.81 billion. That figure is up 46.9% year-over-year. Year-to-date sports betting GGR is $434.2 million, up 48.6% compared to the same period last year.
PointsBet making hay in the Garden State
Now that New Jersey is providing breakdowns of individual operators’ online gross gaming revenue, we can take a look at who’s sitting pretty in what is one of the most competitive sports betting markets in the U.S.
April is just the second month for which the NJDGE has provided this detail and it revealed some notable conclusions. Chief among them was the fact that, unlike most open gaming markets that come to mind, FanDuel and DraftKings are not sweeping all before them in the Garden State.
While FanDuel continues to lead the way as the state’s highest-grossing operator with $174.1 million YTD, boosted by a $38-million month in April, behind the Flutter-owned sportsbook is not DraftKings but PointsBet. The brand recorded $32.9 million in GGR in April, its last full month in New Jersey under that name. PointsBet was officially replaced by Fanatics Sportsbook in the state on May 8.
That gross figure ranks second in New Jersey for last month, far outstripping DraftKings’ $18.9 million. PointsBet also beat DraftKings in gross revenue in March, albeit by a far smaller margin ($20.1 million vs. $17.6 million). It means that PointsBet took close to as much revenue in April as DraftKings did in the last two months combined ($36.5 million).
It suggests that Fanatics has a very strong foothold into which to step in New Jersey. PointsBet’s year-to-date revenue is closing in on triple figures at $88 million, third among all sportsbooks and far ahead of BetMGM in fourth. DraftKings is second on that score as its April GGR saw it become the only sportsbook besides FanDuel to break the $100-million barrier for 2024.
BetMGM ($4.8 million GGR in April, $21.8 million YTD), bet365 ($3.3 million in April, $13.1 million YTD), and Caesars ($1.76 million in April, $10.4 million YTD) make up the rest of the top six.
Meanwhile, relative newbie ESPN Bet took $2.1 million in GGR in April, up from $423,000 in March. The Penn-owned sportsbook’s year-to-date online sports betting revenue is now hovering around $2.5 million after it launched in New Jersey last November.
Elsewhere, Betway’s $130,497 in April revenue means it is now in the black for the year to date after recording a YTD loss in March’s results. Tipico Sportsbook sits at $1.3 million YTD as rumors swirl that its U.S. business may be sold.
How is iGaming moving?
Meanwhile, New Jersey’s statewide iGaming win was up 18.2% year-over-year to $187.9 million in April. April marks the fifth consecutive month in which that number has topped $180 million.
The year-to-date total of $750.7 million in online casino revenue is 21.1% higher than the first four months of last year.
DraftKings and FanDuel continue to hold a shared leadership position in the New Jersey iGaming market. The dominant duo stayed almost neck-and-neck for April and 20.9% and 20.8%, respectively, of the iGaming market. They swapped position after FanDuel had been ahead by a whisker in March, but they are essentially tied for the top spot.
Behind them was BetMGM, with 12.2% and $22.9 million in revenue, compared to DraftKings’ and FanDuel’s wins of slightly over $39 million. Borgata grabbed 9.2% and Caesars Palace 6%.
All in all, April was New Jersey’s second-best month ever for internet gambling.
It’s a very different outlook for casinos’ in-person business. Six of the state’s nine casinos won less from retail gambling last month than they did in the same month a year ago.
Total year-to-date GGR across all forms of betting in New Jersey has now eclipsed $2 billion, up 14.4% from the same period last year. The state, which taxes gaming at around 15%, has received $56.1 million in gaming tax revenue to date in 2024, $18.4 million ahead of the pace set in the first four months of last year. It could see a much higher windfall in the future if Bill S3064, which proposes doubling the tax rate for sports betting and online casino to 30%, ultimately passes.
