New Jersey Handle Tops $1 Billion in September

The state of New Jersey sent a message that it still has plenty of juice after the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement on Monday reported September sportsbook handle totaling $1.3 billion and operator revenue of $111.1 million. New Jersey gamblers bet their most since a record $1.35 billion in January 2022. The emergence of neighboring New York as a major player following the debut of its 2022 mobile platform has reduced New Jersey’s advantage, but only time will tell if September’s total in the Garden State is an anomaly or the beginning of a rebound. It was 79 percent higher than August and about 50% greater than the $866.7 million in accepted bets in September 2022.

The combined 8.6 percent hold was the first under 10 percent since April, but despite the bookmakers’ win rate finally cooling off to start the fall, their $111.1 million in income was still the second-highest operator haul in state history. It was only the second occasion in Garden State history that revenue exceeded $100 million, coming in second only to the record $114.8 million in November 2021.

The amount of money raised was sufficient to give New Jersey the first state to achieve $3 billion in operator winnings in the post-PASPA period, surpassing the milestone by $80 million. By the end of the third quarter of 2023, sportsbooks had earned $709 million, which is a 37.2 percent increase over the same period in 2022. Tax revenue increased by more than $14.2 million, bringing the yearly total above $90.8 million and surpassing the pace of last year by nearly $24.7 million.

When it comes to parlay wagering, New Jersey bookmakers have been on a historic winning streak against the public. By hitting 22.2 percent in September, they extended their streak of holds of 20 percent or more to six straight months. The state’s multi-leg wagering revenue of $68.2 million was the second-highest amount ever recorded, trailing only the $70.8 million in November 2021 and above the previous record of $57.2 million set in October.

Baseball delivered a larger-than-anticipated boost to the bottom line for the second consecutive month. To generate $27.5 million in income, operators created an 11.1 percent hold, which is baseball’s greatest in-season victory percentage and the second straight above 10 percent. Operators have made close to $56.3 million in the last two months, which is over twice as much as the $57.7 million they made in all of 2022 and more than half of the $109.5 million they have earned for 2023.

Football revenue increased significantly from September 2022 to September 2023, growing by 38.6 percent to $486.4 million. On those bets, the house’s hold was 1.8 percent, leaving operators with $8.8 million — less than half the $18.1 million from the first full month of football betting last year.

Prior to August’s record $56.9 million in sales, Resorts Digital, the online link between its internal book and DraftKings, had never exceeded $30 million in monthly income. However, it almost achieved back-to-back $50 million months. Resorts finished with more than double the $22.4 million it had won in September 2022, narrowly missing that milestone by $150,000.

The Meadowlands Racetrack, which is affiliated with FanDuel, PointsBet, and SuperBook, stopped a three-month streak of revenue below $25 million by increasing it to a little over $32 million. The trio’s total lifetime earnings increased by just enough to surpass $1.4 billion, leaving them with less than $5 million as opposed to $300 million in 2023.

While brick-and-mortar venues collected more than $6.2 million off $43.5 million in wagers, enough for a 14.3 percent win rate, gross internet mobile income for New Jersey sportsbooks was $106.4 million for an 8.5 percent hold.