New Jersey sports betting smashes handle record with $931.6m in November

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New Jersey’s online gambling market failed to set another revenue record in November but its sports betting operators obliterated the nation’s previous high-water handle total.

Figures released Monday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) show the state’s licensed online casino/poker operators generated combined revenue of $91.8m in November, a nearly 87% rise from the same month last year but a modest step back from October 2020’s record $93.5m

Online casino games brought in $89.4m, up 87.7% year-on-year, while online poker continued its modest resurgence with $2.4m, up more than three-fifths. For the year-to-date, overall online revenue stands at $870.9m, twice the sum generated in the first 11 months of 2019. 

The Golden Nugget maintained its online casino dominance in November with revenue of $26m (+37.5%), while positions two and three were respectively maintained by the Borgata casino’s digital partners ($23.4m, +185%) and Resorts Digital Gaming ($21m, +90.8%). 

No other operator scored double-digits, although Caesars Interactive Entertainment came closest with $8.1m (and CIE did claim the poker crown with $958k). Hard Rock Atlantic City posted the month’s biggest year-on-year gain, rising 189.1% to just under $6.3m, while the Tropicana gained two-thirds to $6.1m. The Ocean Casino Resort gained 72.4% from a very low base to $948k. 

Switching to sport betting, the market blew past its October wagering handle of $803m by posting a new state and national record of $931.6m in November. Of that sum, 93.6% ($872.1m) was wagered via digital channels. 

November’s betting revenue totaled $50.5m, down $8m from October, but it brought year-to-date betting revenue to $332.1m, up 23% from this point last year. 

The FanDuel/Meadowlands tandem continued to claim the lion’s share ($24.8m) of betting revenue, with traditional runner-up Resorts Digital/DraftKings well back with $14.6m and third-place finisher Ocean Casino Resort/William Hill moving up two spots from October with nearly $3.6m. 

Nevada sportsbooks won’t report their November results for another two weeks but their figures over the past few months have been lagging New Jersey’s by a significant volume. While casinos in both markets are currently operating under pandemic restrictions, Nevada inexplicably continues to require new bettors to register in person before being allowed to wager.