The New Jersey sports betting industry took advantage of the return of top sports to achieve the best month ever in any legal gambling jurisdiction in the United States.
Generating about $ 670 million in betting in August, New Jersey has exceeded $ 8 billion in sports betting since its launch in June 2018. And, the state has re-established itself as the largest and most reliable market in the U.S., according to PlayNJ.
“The recovery is underway, even with constant travel alerts that have reduced external visits to the state,” said James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
The main novelty was the record performance of the state sports betting industry. In addition to beating Nevada’s previous record, the $ 668 million bet on sports in August surpassed the state’s previous record of $ 562 million, set in November 2019.
After paying winning bets, casinos and racetracks reported $ 39.5 million in betting revenue in August. This was the first full month of baseball in the year, and there were also hockey and basketball matches.
New Jersey gambling market numbers
The online game raised $ 87.7 million, more than double the amount obtained a year earlier. Only two casinos, Ocean Resort and Golden Nugget, achieved revenue increases. Ocean rose 3.7%, reaching $ 26 million, while Golden Nugget grew 2.5% with $ 37 million.
“The increase in gaming revenue demonstrates the momentum that Ocean had before the closure and that was resumed immediately after reopening in July,” said Terry Glebocki, Ocean’s CEO.
He added: “We are satisfied with our performance in August, despite having been a less favorable year, with constant capacity restrictions and absence of meals inside the establishments until the beginning of September”.
Caesars recorded the biggest drop with 31.4%, standing at US $ 21.2 million, closely followed by the subsidiary of the same group, Harrah’s, which fell 31.3%, totaling US $ 21.4 million. Resorts had a 28.8% decrease with US $ 13.8 million; while Tropicana plunged 26.5% to $ 26.5 million.
Bally’s registered a reduction of 21.3%, accumulating US $ 15.2 million; with Borgata falling 19% to $ 64.7 million; and Hard Rock fell by 3.5% to $ 39.4 million.
Two entities with an exclusive presence in the online segment performed well in August. Resorts Digital rose 97% to $ 27.9 million, and Caesars Interactive NJ increased nearly 87% to $ 9.2 million.
Among the race tracks, Meadowlands in East Rutherford, outside of New York City, raised $ 21.1 million in betting revenue, compared to $ 11.8 million last year. Monmouth Park in Oceanport, in the coastal region of New Jersey, earned $ 1.8 million compared to $ 2 million in 2019.