New Jersey Sports Betting Sees Huge Month-Over-Month Declines But Year-Over-Year Spikes

The February earnings report for New Jersey shows a mix of positive and negative news for the state’s legal sports betting industry, impacting some of the top sports betting sites in the Garden State.

The February earnings report from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement showed a decrease in month-over-month handle, hold rate, and revenues for sports betting apps and retail providers in New Jersey. Despite this, there were year-over-year increases in monthly handle and revenues, leading to a record-breaking start to legal sports wagering in the state for the first two months of 2024.

$1.08 billion February handle

In February, New Jersey sports betting saw a total of $1.08 billion in bets, marking a 27.6% increase from the previous year. However, this figure is a significant decrease from January’s $1.72 billion handle, amounting to over $710 million.

New Jersey sports betting sites contributed a staggering $1.04 billion to the total of $1.08 billion, thanks to users making use of New Jersey sportsbook promotions.

In the first two months of 2024, New Jersey’s sports betting industry has seen a significant increase, with providers generating $2.8 billion in revenue from both brick-and-mortar casinos and online sports betting sites. This marks a 45.1% growth compared to the same period in the previous year.

Revenues follow a similar pattern

New Jersey sportsbooks saw revenues that mirrored the handle, with monthly declines but annual growth.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported $67.6 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for the 29-day February reporting period. This represents a 6.3% hold, which is a decrease of almost 3.7% from January’s win rate.

The drop from January’s $170.8 million in winnings to $67.6 million in February was a significant 60.4% decrease, marking a sharp decline for New Jersey sportsbooks following one of their most successful months ever.

Despite the underwhelming performance of New Jersey sportsbooks during the Super Bowl, with operators reporting $8.5 million in revenue compared to the $12.8 million in winnings from the previous year, the adjusted gross income for February 2023 still saw a significant increase of 23.7% to $67.6 million from $54.6 million.

So far this year, New Jersey sportsbooks have generated $283.3 million in revenue, marking an impressive 87.7% growth compared to the same period in 2023.

New Jersey sports betting apps paid $9.1 million in taxes in February, bringing the total tax contribution from sportsbooks in the state to $31.3 million so far this year. This represents a significant increase of nearly $15 million compared to the same period last year.

Meadowlands leads the revenue way

In February, New Jersey sportsbooks saw a decrease in revenue due to a low hold rate. The Meadowlands, home to FanDuel, SuperBook, and PointsBet, was the top earner with $33.5 million, a significant decrease from the $109.3 million they made in January.

In February, Resorts Digital, in partnership with DraftKings, ranked second in the New Jersey market, earning $24.2 million in revenue. This marked a 40% decrease from the previous month.

During the February reporting period, four of the state’s sports betting providers experienced real losses. Freehold Raceway, with ESPN BET, PlayUp, and betPARX as its three-skin partnership, recorded a significant loss of $2.3 million in February.

In February, SportTrade, in partnership with Bally’s, reported a loss of $413.9K. Prophet, a betting exchange, also posted a deficit of $406.7K for the month. Golden Nugget, along with its own betting brand skins and Betway, reported losses of $153.7K in February.

March is expected to be a great month for Garden State sports betting providers, as March Madness is anticipated to be the largest on record.