Here’s the good news: New Jersey has nearly reached $1 billion in wagers on sports betting.
In fact, the state likely has surpassed the mark by now, given that it was at $928.1 million through the end of November.
And, while the state’s take in sports gambling seemingly has exceeded expectations, those expectations for the future may need to be tempered.
New York and Pennsylvania are both getting closer to legalizing sports wagering, with each expected to do so in some fashion in early 2019.
First, the numbers:
New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks saw betting rise 27 percent in November, to $330.7 million.
Online sportsbooks accounted for $238.6 million, or 72 percent, of those total bets in November (with retail sportsbooks making up the remaining 28 percent).
Whether other states can tap into that mobile mark remains to be seen, according to Dustin Gouker, lead sports betting analyst for PlayNJ.com.
“New Jersey continues its march toward becoming the nation’s largest legal sports betting market,” Gouker said. “The main driver is online sports betting, which now accounts for the vast majority of all bets in New Jersey. The state’s embrace of mobile betting has shown the path forward for any other state planning on legalizing and regulating sports betting.”
Gouker, however, has concerns.
“New Jersey’s period of having the mobile sports betting market to itself is coming to an end,” he said. “A lot of wagering takes place near the population centers in New York and Philadelphia. At this point, it would be premature to estimate its effect, but New Jersey’s astronomical growth so far will no doubt slow if and when New York joins the market.”
DraftKings Sportsbook — which operates under the Resorts license — fueled Resorts’ $7.2 million in online gross revenue, up from $5.1 million in October. DraftKings topped the online market by generating 34 percent of New Jersey’s November online revenue. But the gap is narrowing, led by FanDuel Sportsbook, which generated $4.4 million in November.
FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands remained the market leader among retail sportsbooks, gathering $2.6 million in November, up 165 percent from $1.1 million in October. FanDuel — which represented 42 percent of the retail market in November — was followed by Ocean Resort Casino‘s $1.9 million.
“DraftKings’ advantage from being the first to hit the online market is slowly beginning to dissipate, and no New Jersey sportsbook will be affected more by legalization in New York than FanDuel at The Meadowlands,” Gouker said. “With the market set for change, it’s critical for operators to establish a solid foundation in terms of revenue and users now.”
