With New York getting so much press over the past few weeks about sports betting legislation finally getting traction after budget approval for 2022, New Jersey made a statement on Friday that it’s not going anywhere after official numbers from March were released.
The Garden State’s total sports betting handle in March was $859.6 million, up 15.7% from February ($742.9 million) and up 372.6% from March 2020 ($181.9 milion).
New Jersey Sports Betting, March vs. February
| Total handle | Mobile handle | Revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| March | $859.618M | $780.145M | $60.755M |
| February | $742.953M | $689.249M | $46.214M |
| Change | Up 15.7% | Up 13.2% | Up 31.5% |
March Madness Lives Up to the Hype
The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament has always provided three weeks of consistent wagering and it paid off big for the bettors, mobile and brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.
After the one-day madness of February’s Super Bowl, this year’s tournament was no different with mobile handle at $780,145,392, up 13.2% from February ($689,249,156) and up an enormous 377.3% from March 2020 ($163,449,027). Mobile represented 90.8% share of the sports betting market.
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The tournament always signals the end of winter, the start of spring and the excitement of the games always provides healthy handle/revenue each and every year.
It never disappoints.
New Jersey Takes a Stand
Many people have the idea that you can start sports betting from your phone or computer in the immediate future in New York. Granted, it has been approved in the fiscal year budget 2022 and deadlines have been set for the choice of providers, operation, management and implementation.
All of these things could take months with negotiations on how it’s going to work and many believe that you will not be able to start betting until possibly the Super Bowl in February 2022.
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Currently, the Garden State has more choices and options for sports betting (mobile or brick-and-mortar), a better product and bettors are more familiar with the product versus the unknown of what the Empire State will bring.
Until something is in the ground and a plan is laid out to what consumers will be getting in New York, New Jersey is here to stay.
Closer to Normalcy
With the state doing everything it can to try and get back to some kind of normalcy due to the current coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Phil Murphy in early March announced that restaurants, casinos and other indoor businesses could increase their capacities from 35% to 50%, starting on March 19.
That date, incidentally, coincided with the start of the first round of the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament, the biggest event for college basketball betting.
Certainly, this helped with sportsbooks and casinos throughout the state toward the last 12 days of the month as more people continue to get back out to a more normal, routine-like feel to life.
