August produced month-to-month gains across the board for New Jersey sports betting.
The numbers were released Friday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE).
New Jersey’s total sports betting handle in August for both mobile and retail posted at more than $546.77 million, a slight increase of 2.8% from July’s $531.89 million dollars but a 17.7% decrease from August 2021 ($664.67 million).
Mobile sports betting posted more than $509.17 million, a 2.9% increase from July’s $494.89 million, and marked a decrease of 16.9% from last August ($612.86 million).
A very slight tick upward for mobile usage occurred for the month of 93.1%, a 0.1% increase from July. The number marked the third consecutive month above that number for the Garden State.
As a footnote, Fubo Sportsbook entered the New Jersey mobile sportsbook landscape last week.
Sports betting revenue in the state showed big increases in August, posting at more than $65.27 million, up a significant 45% from July’s $45 million and up 25.5% from last August’s $52.02 million.
Casinos Post an Unusual Decrease
New Jersey online casinos took a bit of a dip in August for total and internet gaming revenue.
August total gaming revenue registered at more than $470.68 million, down 2.1% from July ($480.7 million), but up 10.1% from last August ($427.65 million).
New Jersey is one of six states with real money online casinos, along with Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Those states, plus Nevada, also have legalized online poker.
Professor Assesses the Numbers
The monthly internet gaming win was more than $131.43 million, down 3.9% from July ($136.7 million), yet up a solid 16.1% from August 2021 ($113.23 million).
Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT) at Stockton University School of Business, commented on the August numbers in a news announcement.
“August, traditionally one of the strongest months for Atlantic City’s casino industry, especially regarding brick-and-mortar gaming revenues, put in a solid showing for 2022,” Bokunewicz said. “Brick and mortar GGR for the month outperformed 2021 (4.4% increase) and though it fell short of pre-pandemic 2019 it beat out every other August since 2015.
“The relatively slow growth of brick-and-mortar gaming revenues compared to the increasing contribution of internet gaming to total revenue could potentially suggest a change in consumer behavior that doesn’t cannibalize in-person gaming but includes significant internet gaming activity.”
“Brick-and-mortar operations will still represent the greater share of overall activity, and also generate complementary revenues from non-gaming operations. A decreased reliance on exclusively in-person gaming activity has the potential to keep the New Jersey casino industry competitive with its neighbors and make it more resilient to market disruptions that might potentially occur in the future.”
In early August, Bokunewicz did a Q and A with TopNJCasinos.com.
