The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) has reported year-on-year growth across the US state’s sports betting and online casino markets for February, but sports wagering handle fell to its lowest level since August 2020.
Total gambling revenue for the month was $288.3m, which was only marginally higher than the $287.3m posted in the same month last year, but down from $346.4m in January 2021.
Sports betting revenue came in at $46.2m, an increase of 171.8% from $17.0m last year, but some way short of the record $82.6m recorded in January of this year.
Players spending on sports betting jumped 50.2% year-on-year to $743.0m, but this was the lowest monthly handle since August 2020, even after taking into account betting on the National Football League’s Super Bowl showpiece. Some $689.2m was wagered online and $53.7m at retail sportsbooks.
FanDuel and PointsBet at Meadowlands remained by far the market leaders in February, posting $27.2m in revenue, up 147.3% on last year. Resorts Digital and DraftKings followed with $7.7m, then the Borgata on $5.0m.
Looking at online casino and revenue here reached $93.8m, which was up 80.4% from $52.0m last year, but down 9.6% from January’s record of $103.8m.
Golden Nugget Online Gaming, the igaming division of the Golden Nugget casino, retained top spot, posting $27.9m in revenue for February. The Borgata followed close behind on $25.7m, then Resorts Digital with $19.7m.
However, despite growth in sports betting and igaming, the state’s land-based casino market continued to suffer, with revenue down 32.1% year-on-year to $148.2m. Casinos continue to face restrictions due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, including capacity limits and social distancing.
For the year-to-date, total gaming revenue in New Jersey was $634.4m, up 7.9% on the same point in 2020. Sports betting revenue was 82.2% higher at $128.6m and igaming revenue was up 84.5% to $197.6m, but land-based casino revenue fell 24.8% to $308.3m.