The Garden State of New Jersey has set a sports betting record for the fourth consecutive month in November and remains on pace to break the annual record. The state of New Jersey recorded a total of $931.6 million bet on sports in the month of November, bringing its 2020 year-to-date total to an astonishing $5.02 billion, and closing in on the once unthinkable $1 billion monthly betting handle mark. The amount of sports bets placed in New Jersey generated a $50.6 million sports wagering gross revenue for the Garden State’s coffers for the month. In what has been a stellar late summer and fall following the resumption of professional sports, New Jersey has set records in each of the last four months with totals of $667.9 million, $748.5 million, $803.1 million and $931.6 million from August to November respectively. Online sports betting numbers still incredibly high The total spent on sports wagering amounted to the impressive $931.6 million handle, which was split between $872.1 million in online sports betting (a very healthy 93.6% of total sports handle) and by comparison, a mere $59.54 million wagered in bricks-and-mortar sportsbooks at the state’s casinos and racetracks. The November figures corresponded to a 7% increase compared to the $803 million generated in October. The FanDuel Sportsbook – PointsBet combination licensed by the Meadowlands racetrack were the leading online sportsbook operators for November with a $29.8 million in gross revenue, an increase from $21.2 million in October. Other rankings included DraftKings in second place followed by the combined Borgata – BetMGM dream team finishing third in the November revenue rankings in New Jersey. The November numbers in New Jersey will have been boosted by the opening of the Malta-based sports betting firm and European sportsbook giant, Tipico, into the sports wagering market, and most of the operators recorded increases in their monthly take. NFL Huge but ‘Other Sports’ also on the rise in New Jersey With both college football and NFL in full swing in November, there’s no surprise in seeing those sports dominating the New Jersey betting handle with a massive $599.5 million for wagers settled in November, up from $433.3 million in October. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is the hot streak of the ‘other’ category that includes all sorts of things like NASCAR, NHL, PGA Tour Golf and the sports that kept New Jersey alive throughout the height of the pandemic like table tennis. The ‘other’ category accounted for $221.5 million in handle. The Parlay Wager category continued its very few months ranking third with more than $194 million, while basketball took in $88.5 million and MLB baseball contributed $1.2 million as it wound down while completing the World Series in early November. While Online Booms, Casinos on the Decline Atlantic City’s casinos and the three race tracks that offer sports betting, plus sports wagering saw nearly $289 million in revenue in November, a figure that does not include money bet on horses. That represents a 5.6% decline from November 2019, before the global pandemic, when casinos were operating without restrictions. Currently, the nine casinos are operating at just 25% of capacity and must stop serving food and drinks at 10 p.m. under the state’s global pandemic restrictions enforced to combat infections. “The resurging public health crisis drove down business in Atlantic City during November,” said James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. It’s a grim situation for the casinos, but on the upside, clearly online sports betting is booming. We can’t wait to see if New Jersey can cross the $1 billion in sports betting handle in December.
