December was another record month for New Jersey’s online gaming and betting industry with just shy of $1bn wagered during the month.
The Garden State’s performance was driven by strong growth in online betting with remote channels representing 88% of gross win for the month.
Sports betting handle rose 7% in December to $996.3m on November’s $931m. $929.3m of December’s total was bet online.
Operator revenues reached $66.4m during the month.
So far total betting gross win for 2020 (from July) has reached $399m, an annual rise of 33% on 2019’s $299.4m, with online gross win rising 48% to $360m. Land-based gross win came to $39m, representing a 30% drop caused by the pandemic.
For the first time New Jersey’s sports betting handle reached $6bn in 2020, an increase of 31.4% on 2019.
In terms of December market share, FanDuel and PointsBet at Meadowlands led the sports-betting market with $33.2m in revenue.
Resorts Digital and DraftKings ranked second with $15.4m; betMGM was third with $7.5m.
By sport, football led the way with $323m in bets. It was followed by basketball with $253m.
Online gambling on the rise
The figures confirm the extent to which New Jersey deserves its place at the very top of the Wedge Index of gaming friendliness.
Sports-betting handle for the year came in at $4.58bn. It is unlikely such an outcome would have been expected at this point last year.
Alongside the impressive sports-betting numbers, the state also produce decent number in online gaming which amounted to $99.5m, up 101.6% from December 2019.
Internet casino and slots revenue amounted to $96.4m for the month and online poker win reached $3.1m.
Golden Nugget topped the New Jersey igaming market with $29.4m in revenue, ahead of BetMGM on $27.2m and Resorts Digital with $21m.
Bridge and tunnel
The news that New York would likely regulate mobile betting in 2021 has not dampened punters’ appetites, especially those of New Yorkers crossing the Hudson river to place their bets.
The situation could evolve, but the monopoly model favored by Governor Andrew Cuomo will also not have dampened the spirits of NJ industry executives.
