The holidays are over, the New Year has begun and the Garden State ended the year on a high note as the December handle number for New Jersey sports betting was released.
The numbers were released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) on Friday.
Here are three takeaways from the New Jersey sports betting report:
OVER $1 BILLION IN HANDLE FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT MONTH
New Jersey sports betting posted another huge December handle ($1.23 billion). It is the state’s fourth consecutive month of more than $1 billion, but the numbers actually decreased for the second straight month, down 2.38% from $1.26 billion in November. The national record was set by the Garden State with $1.3 billion in October.
Mobile sports betting handle came in at $1.11 billion, down 2.6% from November’s $1.14 billion, but up 19.4% from December 2020 ($929.3 million). Mobile represented a 90.2% share of the sports betting market in December, which is almost identical to November.
New Jersey Sports Betting, Dec. vs. Nov.
| Total handle | Mobile handle | Revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| December | $1.23B | $1.11B | $59.0M |
| November | $1.26B | $1.14B | $114.8M |
| Change | Down 2.38% | Down 2.6% | Down 48.6% |
The first time the 10-figure threshold was broken was the September figure of $1.01 billion.
On the revenue side, the numbers was less than desired to end a historic year.
After generating $114.8 million in sports betting revenue in November, December’s number decreased to $59 million, down 48.6% from the previous month. It also was and down 11.1% from Dec. 2020 ($66.4 million).
New Jersey was the first state ever to generate more than $100 million in operator revenue in an individual month.
NJ Sports Betting, Dec. 2021 vs Dec. 2020
| Total handle | Mobile handle | Revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2021 | $1.23B | $1.11B | $59.0M |
| December 2020 | $996.301M | $929.3M | $66.387M |
| Change | Up 23% | Up 19.4% | Down 11.1% |
END OF YEAR NUMBERS STAGGERING
The end of the year numbers for New Jersey were something to behold.
The retail (on-site) sportsbook year-to-date handle hit $986.9 million.
And how about this? Mobile sportsbook wagering was of the charts, posting $9.9 billion alone.
The Garden State’s 2021 total year-to-date handle was $10.93 billion.
The top bet in New Jersey for 2021 was the parlay. Parlay betting had a win percentage of 17.5%.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK!
This was the final total gaming revenue report in which New York wasn’t a factor.
New York launched mobile sports betting on Jan. 8 with four of the state’s nine mobile platforms going live (Caesars Sportsbook New York, DraftKings NY, FanDuel NY and BetRivers NY) and a fifth (BetMGM NY) will launch on Monday, Jan. 17.
Four other platforms are waiting to meet regulatory requirements in New York: Wynn Bet NY, PointsBet NY, Resorts World NY and Bally Bet NY.
With the NFL Playoffs getting under way on Saturday, it will be a battle for customers, promotions, offers, payouts, loyalty and many other factors as New York enters the metropolitan area as a major player in sports betting in the months and years ahead. That seems certain will hurt the New Jersey numbers.
Let the betting wars begin.
