In four of the first 10 months of 2021, New Jersey online casino operators produced more than twice as much gross revenue as their NJ sports betting operator counterparts.
But in November, the books beat the sports betters so bad that the two revenue figures were nearly identical, according to figures Thursday from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Just one month after the sportsbooks held a record $84.2 million in wagers from the public’s losing bets, along came November and a far superior $114.8 million in revenue — nearly a 10% “hold” in an industry that often has to settle for just over half that margin.
The state’s steadier online casino industry, meanwhile, retained $118 million from bettors in November.
For the third month in a row — with a fourth likely in December, due to continued pro and college football — New Jersey residents and visitors bet more than $1 billion.
The $1.258 billion figure for November fell short of October’s $1.303 billion but surpassed September’s $1.011 billion.
Meadowlands and partners got richest
The biggest share of the sports betting revenue — $64.4 million — was held by the Meadowlands Racetrack and its partners, led by FanDuel but also with PointsBet and Superbook collecting their share.
To put that $64.4 million in perspective, all of the mobile sportsbooks and the retail betting operations at the state’s three racetracks and nine Atlantic City casinos combined didn’t reach that revenue figure in six of the first 10 months of 2021.
Next up was Resorts Digital — with DraftKings the key partner, and also FOX Bet — and its $22.4 million in winnings. Barstool Sports continued to make waves, as it boosted the Freehold Raceway contingent to third place at $7.9 million. PlayUp — which has garnered plenty of headlines this week, but not the good kind — also is a partner of Freehold’s.
Borgata, along with powerful BetMGM‘s mobile sportsbook, was right behind at $7.7 million.
Monmouth Park was a shade under $5 million, with an assist from partners theScore and PlaySugarHouse.
For most of the casinos and their partners, sports betting is a rounding error — including Caesars ($0.9 million), Ocean Casino ($0.8 million), Golden Nugget and Bally’s (each $0.2 million), and Harrah’s ($0.1 million).
Online casino dollars are no gamble for NJ operators
While total monthly sports betting revenue in the Garden State has ranged from $46.2 million to $114.8 million — with five months not even reaching $60 million, but four marks north of $80 million — there is far less variance among online casino figures.
While October produced a U.S. record $127 million in revenue, operators have shared at least $100 million in every month of 2021 except February ($93.8 million), which produced a per-day rate that also would have been on target for the milestone if the month had 31 days instead of 28.
Borgata, Golden Nugget, and Resorts and its online casino partners once again accounted for the vast majority of the industry’s win in November, with each snaring between $27 million and $34 million.
Finally, the brick-and-mortar casinos made $206.9 million for the month — the lowest figure since April. Dropping temperatures with the change of seasons typically results in less casino visitation.
The state’s report showed revenue among the nine casinos ranging from Bally’s at $11.1 million to market giant Borgata at $48.3 million.
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