The New Jersey legal sports betting scene proved once again in May that it is the most reliable market in the US scene. The reigning “King of the Bet-Friendly States” was able to shake the presence of a tangible nation-wide summer sports betting slowdown and post an increase in month-to-month betting activity.
It has been a mixed bag so far for the US legal sports betting industry. Some jurisdictions like Michigan have reported an understandable and predictable seasonal sports betting decline while others like Indiana and now New Jersey have shown an actual increase in wagering activity during what has typically been a lean summer sports wagering season.
The somewhat surprising numbers out of New Jersey prompted Dustin Gouker, analyst for PlayNJ.com to say: “New Jersey’s gaming industry appears healthier than anyone would have thought possible a year ago.”
Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayNJ.com commented that: “New Jersey’s sports betting market has not only grown into the largest in the U.S., but it has evolved into the state that is least affected by the seasonality of sports betting. No market can entirely escape the natural ebbs and flows, of course. But New Jersey is less reliant on football and sports betting holidays than any other major U.S. market.”
Diving Deeper Into New Jersey
New Jersey’s May sports betting handle represents the third-best showing that the state’s sportsbooks have reported in 2021. The state’s mobile and retail sportsbooks took in $814.3 million in wagers during the 31-day period – a 8.9% rise from the still-impressive $748 million they took in during April. While $814.3 million is a nice total, it is still miles off the record $996.3 million that was reported in December.
Sports betting revenues came in at $52.89 million for May, which represents a slightly disappointing 3.5% decrease from the $54.83 million in April. The revenues failed to follow the handle because of a low hold rate of 6.5% in May for New Jersey betting providers. The hold rate was 7.3% in April. A total of $7.9 million in tax revenue was generated for state and local coffers in New Jersey.
Market Drivers
It was New Jersey’s robust mobile sports betting scene that made headlines once again in the New Jersey market. 90.2% of the overall handle, $736.7 million of the $814.3 million came from internet-based apps.
Basketball, thanks in part to the presence of the Philadelphia 76ers, the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets in the NBA playoffs was a big handle-generator once again for the New Jersey scene. A total of $216.7 million was bet on basketball in New Jersey during May – an increase from $176.2 million in April. Baseball led the way however with $326 million in bets.
“Success from regional teams almost always gives a market a boost, and basketball is particularly popular with New Jersey bettors,” Dustin Gouker said. “Even more, after a year of strict capacity limits and with so many regional favorites in the NBA Playoffs, bettors seemed particularly motivated to get out and place a bet. All of it is great news for a gaming market on the mend.”
Year-Over-Year and Year-to-Date
New Jersey not only posts month-over-month figures but they also give us a glimpse on the state of the state year-over-year. Remember back – May 2020 remember was a month plagued by the coronavirus disaster that shuttered casinos and paused global sports leagues. New Jersey’s year-over-year handle increased an astounding 501.1% from May 2020’s $117.8 million to $814.3 million last month. Revenues spiked 433.6% from $9.9 million in May 2020 to May 2021’s $52.9 million.
With May’s sports betting numbers in the books, New Jersey’s year-to-date sports betting handle climbed to just over $4.1 billion, putting the state on track to smash the record $6 billion yearly handle the Garden State set last year. Basketball has generated $1.5 billion toward the $4.1 billion total so far.
Looking Ahead
The summer, which has traditionally been a low point for the legal sports betting industry has started off pretty well for New Jersey sportsbooks. Things are about to crank up for the top market in the US legal sports betting industry too. This summer will see a fair share of wagers on the Olympics as well as Euro 2020, and the extension of the NBA and NHL playoffs deep into the summer is poised to help the industry out.
Word out of the state this week is that expansion on college sports betting is close as well. Previously unable to bet on New Jersey-based college teams, thanks to The New Jersey Assembly Appropriations Committee, it likely won’t be long before that policy is changed, opening up a new lane for Jersey sportsbooks to pursue.
Any doubt about New Jersey’s standing as the top sports betting jurisdiction in the country were erased months ago and only strengthened in May. No state will come within $250 million of The Garden State’s May sports betting totals.
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