New Jersey’s licensed sports betting operators reported a slight decrease in both wagering handle and revenue in December, as punters apparently found themselves distracted by the cash and time demands of the holidays.
Figures released Monday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) show the state’s licensed betting operators generated wagering handle of $319.2m in December, down slightly from $330.7m in November. Wagering revenue – which under the state’s definition includes pending wagers – totaled $20.8m, down around $900k from the previous month.
In what is now a familiar pattern, online betting turnover dwarfed its land-based counterpart. Online handle totaled just over $241m, around $2.4m higher than in November, while retail wagering hit $78.1m, well back of November’s $92.1m.
The FanDuel-powered Meadowlands Racetrack’s betting revenue won the month with $9.1m, nearly $2m higher than November’s result and significantly better than the $3.5m the track reported in October. Resorts Digital, whose online sports offering is powered by the DraftKings/Kambi combo, reported wagering revenue of nearly $6.7m, down about half-a-million from November.
The William Hill-powered Monmouth Park track’s betting revenue ranked third in November with $2.32m, a slight decline from November’s $2.67m. Ocean Resort Casino once again led all Atlantic City retail betting operators with $1.67m, although this was down significantly from November’s $2.82m.
The rest of AC’s betting operators were well back of the leaders, finishing as follows: Tropicana ($217k) Harrah’s ($216k), Borgata ($167k), Bally’s ($128.7k) and the Golden Nugget ($82.5k)
The Borgata began work this month on an $11m project to expand its current temporary sports betting facility into a ‘destination bar.’ The Borgata was the first AC casino to launch wagering last June and president Marcus Glover said the property was intent on “advancing our product with an innovative gaming and entertainment experience for our guests to enjoy.”
In pseudo-betting news, the DGE said Monday that it was reviewing the controversy surrounding this weekend’s DraftKings’ Sports Betting National Championship, in which only some contestants were paid their ‘winnings’ from Sunday’s first NFL game in time to place bets on the Eagles-Saints matchup. It was after a consultation with the DGE that DraftKings’ rival FanDuel agreed to compensate bettors who fell victim to an odds cockup at the Meadowlands sportsbook last September.
