Online Betting Take A Big Chunk Of NJ's Gambling Revenue In January

New Jersey sportsbooks operators inch closer to the $1 billion mark, setting another record in wagers that could see it achieve the huge feat. In another profitable month, Garden State bookmakers recorded wagers of up to $958.72 million on sports in January.

The Sportsbook section saw profits of up to $86.2 million on nearly $1 billion in wagers. This comes with a nearly 9% hold rate. Before sportsbooks started clocking huge figures in January, they had already set the pace in 2020 by hitting five straight months of record-setting sports wagering handled. Everything boiled down to an all-time high of $966 million in December.

With February’s number expected any time soon, there seems to be a possibility that the sportsbook could just cross the $1 billion mark. Reports from reputable sources like Forbes had stated that New Jersey bookies had handled $117 million in bets on the SuperBowl which represented a 116% increase compared to the amount received on the same game in 2020.

The January sports betting report represented a year-over-year increase of 77% from the same time in 2020. Despite the number of total wagers received in December dropped, revenue was still impressive and grew to as much as $16.3 million. This also represents a year-over-year increase of up to 54.3% for the record-setting month.

This increase could be attributed to the Covid-19 Pandemic which introduced regulations that saw the state’s brick-and-mortar gambling industry lock its doors to players and restrictions that kept players confined to their homes. While the land-based options suffered losses due to government restrictions before, during, and after the highest surge of infections, the online gaming market thrived. More than 90% of sports bets collected were wagered on virtual sportsbooks.

Reports by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement showed that the State’s total gaming revenue for January had shot up to $346.4 million making it another eventual month for all casino brands within the state. The new figures represent a big increase of up to 15.3% from the reports released in the first month of 2020.

Internet Gaming Revenue Surges In New Jersey

Though almost all casino brands had a good time during the first month of the year, Internet gaming claims almost one-third of the total revenue report as online casinos all over the state generated $103.8 million in revenue. This number represents a big jump from the $55.1 million recorded in January 2020. This number only accounts for gains from table games but excludes money won from online sports betting.

Land-based casinos had one of the worst times since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic with all nine casinos reporting $160 million in revenue which represented a 16.6% drop. Slot machines, which are the biggest moneymaker, saw a 20% drop making only $113.3 million in total revenue. In 2020, this figure was up to $140.3 million in January.

Hard Rock Casino and Ocean Casino recorded big increases in year-over-year revenues. Hard Rock came top with a report of $26.6 million in January. Ocean had a close gain of $20.5 million. Every other casino in Atlantic was not so lucky and reported a year-over-year decrease.

Harrah’s sits at the bottom as it saw the steepest fall with a 37.7% drop. The casino only recorded $14.7 in revenue during the period. Borgata is one of Atlantic City’s highest-earning casinos, a position it still holds even though its revenue saw a year-over-year decrease. The operator closed out January with a revenue report of $38.24 million which is a significant figure compared to other casinos but a disappointing end to the month when compared to the $54.68 million it earned in January 2020.