A strong run of results
New Jersey became the first state to have sportsbooks generate revenue of more than $100m in a single month. The total handle in November for the state’s retail and online sportsbooks was $1.26bn. While this was a 35% year-on-year rise, it was just below the $1.3bn record handle that was set in October, possibly attributable to one fewer weekend of football action and one fewer day in the month of November.
total revenue for sportsbooks in November was $114.8m
The Garden State has been posting very strong sports betting results recently. The lifetime handle of New Jersey sportsbooks has now surpassed the $20bn mark. Total revenue for sportsbooks in November was $114.8m, which was significantly greater than the previous state and nationwide record. It was also 127% greater than the November 2020 sportsbook revenue figure. The previous all-time high revenue for a single month was $84.2m, posted by New Jersey in October. Local and state taxes for November were $17.3m.
Massive online emphasis
Since the launch of legal sports betting in June 2018, sportsbooks in New Jersey have earned revenue of $1.55bn. It is the best-performing state in terms of betting handle and revenue since the ending of the federal ban on sports betting.
One of the main drivers of the strong results in recent months is football. The return of the NBA and college basketball were also key contributors. Total football betting in November was $401.3m, down from $499m the previous month. Basketball betting handle was just under $400m, with total basketball bets for the year of $2.3bn. This is the highest handle for any sport in New Jersey to date in 2021.
of the total betting handle, 91% of it came through online sportsbooks
Of the total betting handle, 91% of it came through online sportsbooks in November. Retail sportsbooks took in $114m in bets for the period, not quite enough to beat the record retail handle of $124.2m set in October.
Casinos getting in on the action
New Jersey’s iGaming operations also had a strong performance in November. There was $118m in revenue for online casinos and poker sites for the month, just a bit lower than the record revenue of $127m set in October, but still a 29% year-on-year increase.
Just $2.2m of the revenue is attributable to peer-to-peer online poker. The Borgata generated the most iGaming revenue in November at $33.7m, closely followed by Golden Nugget Online Gaming and Resorts Digital.
For the land-based casinos in Atlantic City, revenue rose 41% year-on-year to $207m. Slot machine revenue comprised $154.7m of this total, with the remaining $52,2m coming from table games.