A New Billion Dollar Industry As New Jersey Bookmakers Break Barrier
Published January 26, 2019 by Sol FH
Over $1bn in online wagers made with New Jersey bookmakers during 2018.
Online sports gambling in New Jersey broke into uncharted territory in 2018, as online bookmakers recorded taking in over $1bn in bets. The state also saw a drop in monthly revenues in December and the month-on-month handle. The numbers from December, released by New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement show that online bookmakers had taken $94.0m in revenue, and a handle of $1.25bn since the first bets back in the middle of June 2018.
Online gambling has become the most popular way to wager, as the figures show that out of the $319.2m that was wagered during December, 76% of it was placed online. It is interesting to think about how the new Department of Justice opinion to ban interstate online sports betting will affect the industry in 2019.
Online gambling had a higher handle in November 2018, by 3.5%, but, December has always been a slower month for sports betting, where even in Nevada, the land where sports gambling has been legal since 1949 shows lower numbers.
Since June 14th, the day that Governor Phil Murphy placed the first legal bet, the total revenue generated by operators was $94.0m. The biggest online bookmakers in New Jersey changed places on the leaderboard, FanDuel took over the top spot from rivals DraftKings, with huge revenues of $9.1m, an increase of 30% on November, which also set a brand new record for the biggest betting month in state history.
Leading the way for the most popular betting sport was Football, which accounted for $501.0m of total bets wagered. That verticle accounted for 40% of the grand betting total - gross revenue of $22.3m.
The Department of Justice new opinion, which was led by the lobbying powers of Sheldon Adelson, will render inter-state lawful sports gambling, illegal. It remains to be seen how that will adversely affect the revenues, handle, and overall gambling numbers, but it certainly will.
