New Jersey’s licensed sports betting operators generated ‘revenue’ of just under $4m in July, the first full month since legal wagering commenced in mid-June.
According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), the state’s five licensed betting operators generated combined revenue of $3.83m in July. The total is surprisingly low, given that the state reported revenue of $3.46m in roughly two weeks of legal operation in June.
There were three licensed bookies in June’s report: the Monmouth Park racetrack, the Borgata casino in Atlantic City, plus the new Ocean Resort Casino, although the latter property was only open for three days in June.
The state has since welcomed two additional operators: the Meadowlands racetrack and Bally’s Atlantic City casino, although the latter property didn’t open until July 30. This month saw DraftKings launch the state’s first mobile betting app, but its returns won’t be quantified until the DGE’s August report is filed next month.
As previously reported, some caveats apply regarding the DGE’s definition of betting revenue, particularly the concept of booking all cash in the till – including pending wagers on future events and “unredeemed winning wagers” – as revenue.
New Jersey’s bookmakers handled around $40.7m in July, up from $16.4m in the final two weeks of June. For the market’s overall performance to date, betting handle hit $57.1m, from which operators derived ‘revenue’ of $7.3m. However, only $3.23m has actually been won by the books, thanks to $2.4m in unredeemed wagers and $1.65m wagered on future events.
Unsurprisingly, baseball has dominated betting activity, generating handle of $36.3m, more than twice the $17.9m derived via the ‘other’ category. Basketball added just over $1m while football kicked up just over $160k.
Using the DGE’s interpretation of ‘revenue,’ the Meadowlands led all comers with $1.35m, with the Ocean Resort Casino second with just over $1m. Monmouth Park ranked third with $856k, followed by the Borgata at just under $563k, while Bally’s earned $17,788 in its first two days of operation.
The two operators who have been active from day one of legal wagering both suffered sharp declines in July. Monmouth Park suffered the worst, with its revenue falling nearly two-thirds, while the Borgata was down around 57%. It remains to be seen how operators will fare as the number of betting licensees continues to increase.
For instance, Harrah’s Casino launched its sportsbook on August 1 and Resorts Casino Hotel plans to do likewise later this week. Multiple online/mobile operations are also tipped to arrive before the NFL season officially kicks off next month.
