NEW JERSEY SPORTSBOOKS’ HOT DECEMBER PUSHES 2019 HANDLE
TO MORE THAN $4.5 BILLION
Sportsbooks, online casinos combine to generate nearly $800 million in revenue during booming 2019, according to PlayNJ.com

(ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.) — New Jersey’s sportsbooks and online casinos performed in December in much the same way they spent the rest of 2019: With new records and more growth. With a strong closing month, which included a near-record monthly sports betting handle, retail and online sportsbooks combined with online casinos and poker to generate nearly $800 million in revenue in 2019, sending New Jersey into 2020 with plenty of momentum, according to PlayNJ analysts.

“Online sports betting and casino gambling should continue on or near its current growth trajectory in 2020,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayNJ.com. “Online growth will continue to be a net win for New Jersey’s gaming industry.”

In December, New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks collected $557.8 million in bets, falling just short of the record $562.2 million handle set in November, according to official reporting released Tuesday. The December 2019 handle was up 74.7% from $319.2 million in December 2018.

Revenue from sportsbooks reached $29.4 million, down from $32.9 million in November and up 41.4% from $20.8 million won in December 2018. December’s revenue yielded $3.7 million in tax revenue for the state.

For 2019, New Jersey’s sportsbooks combined to generate:

• $4.6 billion in bets. Of that $3.8 million, or 83.7%, was generated online.
• Revenue of $299.4 million, including $244.5 million online.
• State tax revenue of $36.5 million.

In a neck-and-neck race since summer 2019 to be the country’s largest legal sports betting jurisdiction, New Jersey will fall short of Nevada in annual handle. Nevada has generated $4.7 billion in bets through November.

“2019 could very well go down as the last year that New Jersey was eclipsed by Nevada,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayNJ.com said. “From its proximity to the New York market to its pioneering online sports betting infrastructure, New Jersey’s positives as a sports betting market will continue to fuel its growth.”

In December, online betting generated $488.9 million, or 87.6% of the state’s handle, up from 86.5% in November.

FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet continues to lead the market, tallying $12.1 million in gross revenue, down from $12.2 million in November. Anchored by DraftKings and Fox Bet, Resorts Digital generated $9.3 million, up from $9.1 million. The online market leaders were followed by:

• Monmouth/William Hill/Sugarhouse/TheScore ($1.9 million, even with November)
• Ocean Casino/William Hill ($1.2 million, down from $2.1 million in November)
• BetMGM/Borgata ($995,096, down from $1.3 million)
• Golden Nugget/BetAmerica ($102,524, down from $163,863)
• Caesars Sportsbook/888sport ($64,759, down from $455,553)
• Tropicana/William Hill ($32,958, down from $71,706)
• Hard Rock/Bet365/Unibet (-$294,442, down from $517,252)

FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands posted $2.4 million in November gross revenue, down from $2.7 million in November, to retain the retail market lead. FanDuel was followed in gross revenue by:

• Borgata ($1.3 million, up from $734,240 in November)
• Monmouth Park ($617,410, down from $664,468)
• Bally’s AC ($108,437, down from $252,778)
• Tropicana Casino ($71,460, down from $108,392)
• Golden Nugget ($66,306, down from $163,863)
• Hard Rock AC (-$51,182, down from $19,837)
• Ocean Casino (-$68,035, down from $492,357)
• Harrah’s AC (-$107,646, down from $22,565)
• Resorts AC (-$406,493, down from $51,278)

“In addition to constant growth, one of the constants in New Jersey’s sports betting market has been FanDuel’s dominance,” Gouker said. “The brands under Resorts Digital have made it a relatively close second in the online market, but it has proven difficult to overcome FanDuel’s advantages, despite the brand recognition that comes from DraftKings and Fox Bet.”

DECEMBER PUSHES ONLINECASINOS TO NEARLY $500 MILLION IN ANNUAL REVENUE

New Jersey’s online casino and poker industry nearly surpassed $50 million in monthly revenue for the first time in December, completing a year of incredible expansion. Online casino games and poker generated a record $49.3 million in December, up 70% from $29 million in December 2018.

Such growth is hardly an outlier. For the year, online casinos and poker generated a record $482.7 million, up 61.6% from $298.7 million in 2018. And online casinos set monthly revenue records eight times throughout the year.

“Online casino gambling has clearly become one of the biggest winners from online sports betting,” Ramsey said. “In a highly competitive market such as online casino gambling, the cross-selling of online gambling products has successfully kept customers playing.”

Some other important online casino and poker data from the December report:

• Online casinos injected $7.4 million into state coffers in December and $72.5 million for the year.
• The Golden Nugget, the unrivaled online market leader, took in $17.3 million, outpacing its land-based counterpart ($14.3 million) for the third consecutive month.
• The industry generated a $1.6 million per day during the 31 days in December, up from $935,750 per day in December 2018.
• Online casino games generated $47.6 million in December, even with November. Online poker posted $1.7 million, up from $1.5 million.

For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting and online gaming in New Jersey, visit PlayNJ.com/news.

About the PlayUSA.com Network:

The PlayUSA.com Network is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States. With a presence in over a dozen states, PlayUSA.com and its state-focused branches (including PlayNJ.com and PlayPennsylvania.com) produce daily original reporting, publish in-depth research, and offer player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online gaming options for consumers. Based in Las Vegas, the PlayUSA Network is independently owned and operated, with no affiliations to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.

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