New Jersey sportsbook set another record in November as they were more profitable than operators from any other market in the nation’s history.
The state’s books won $114.8 million from sports bettors throughout the month, setting a record for monthly sports betting revenue, according to data released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Books won the record-setting number on a near record-breaking handle. In October, Garden State sports betting operators accepted $1.3 billion in wagers, more than any other month in history. In November, it fell just shy of that mark with a $1.26 billion handle.
While New Jersey is seemingly breaking records faster than it can set them, there is a potential dark cloud looming over the market.
New York is set to implement mobile sports betting within the next few months and the bettors residing in New York City will no longer need to take a short trip across the river to make a bet. However, with sportsbooks facing a 51% tax rate, New York bettors may be subject to worse betting lines from their home books and could still be incentivized to travel to New Jersey.
Aside from pulling bettors from the New Jersey market, given the population of New York, the Empire State will likely become one of the largest sports betting markets in the country.
As the fourth largest state with 19.3 million living within its borders, and with California, Texas, and Florida, the only three states with a larger population, devoid of a sports betting market, New York sportsbooks could do some eye-popping numbers once the market is launched. By comparison, New Jersey is the 11th most populated state with 8.8 million people.
Sports betting revenue was just a small part of the state’s gross gaming revenue, which totaled $439.6 million in November. Those figures represent a huge 52.2% increase over the $289.9 million won during the same period a year ago.
Atlantic City’s nine brick-and-mortar casinos reported winning $206.9 million and internet operators, which set a record in October with $127 million in revenue, won $118 million last month.
Brick-and-mortar casino revenue is up 41.2% year-over-year, but there are ongoing negotiations surrounding a change in the property tax structure to keep some of the lower-revenue properties from going out of business. Online betting in New Jersey, both at online casinos and sportsbooks, has been the main catalyst for the increase in gross gaming revenue. Land-based casino revenue is still below the pre-pandemic levels.
Year-to-date, New Jersey gambling operators won $4.3 billion, which is up 68.7% from the first 11 months of 2020, although the brick-and-mortar operators were forced to shutter for several of those months last year because of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.