New Jersey Sports Betting and Online Gambling Soars in March
Published April 24, 2021 by Elana K
In March 2021, New Jersey sports betting generated $859.6 million in bets, while online gambling brought in $113.7 million.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has reported a 119.8% increase in the state’s gambling activity when comparing March 2020 to March 2021. Total gambling revenue this March totaled $359.3 million compared to last year’s $163.5 million. But since last March marked the beginning of COVID-19 lockdowns, the year-on-year comparison doesn't provide a truly accurate picture of New Jersey gambling growth.
According to James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, a more reasonable comparison would be between 2021 and 2019, since many casinos were shut down in 2020 due to COVID-19. Compared to March 2019, March 2021 revenue increased by 18% — which is pretty good, considering the pandemic in between.
New Jersey Sports Betting
Sports betting saw $859.6 million in bets in March, with the majority coming from online and mobile sportsbooks and only $79.5 million from land-based operators. This is the highest monthly handle the state has seen in a season with no football games.
From the handle, New Jersey sportsbooks earned a total of $60.8 million in revenue, a 360% increase from $13.2 million in March 2020. March’s revenue also marked a 31.5% increase compared to the previous month, February’s $46.2 million. The state earned $7.7 million in taxes from March sports betting revenue.
New Jersey Online Gambling
Online gambling generated $113.7 million, over 75% more than the revenue from March 2020. March’s total also topped New Jersey’s previous record of $103.8 million, which was set in January 2021. As usual, online casino games accounted for the majority of revenue while online poker generated only $2.7 million. The state earned $17.1 million in taxes from online gambling.
One surprising outcome of March online gambling is that Borgata overtook the Golden Nugget as the market leader. The Golden Nugget has an almost impeccable record of earning more than any other casino, but this March Borgata generated $36.2 million, while the Nugget came in a close second place with $31.8 million.
