New Jersey set a new record for the legal US sports betting industry in September by becoming the first US state to take $1bn in bets in a single month.
According to the latest figures from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, bettors in the state wagered $1.011bn on sporting events in September.
September’s handle was up 35.1% on the $748.6m wagered this time last year. The Garden State’s latest handle figure also represents a major month-on-month increase on the $665m wagered in August.
It should not come as a surprise that New Jersey passing the $1bn handle mark coincided with the return of football season. This is the fourth football season in which New Jersey sportsbooks have been operational. In the first three, handle grew month-on-month in October and November. This trend also included December in 2020.
New Jersey’s sports betting handle nearly passed the $1bn mark back in December 2020 with $996.3m in wagers.
Turning to revenue, sportsbooks in the state managed to generate $82.4m in sports betting revenue. This was up from the $45m generated in September 2020 and up from the $52m generated the month prior.
The Garden State’s sports betting revenue figure for September was just shy of the record $82.6m posted in January 2021.
The Garden State received $10.2m in tax revenue from legal sportsbook operators.
How did the sportsbooks perform?
Once again, the Meadowlands license dominated the New Jersey betting space in September.
FanDuel, PointsBet, and SuperBook, which all operate under the Meadowlands license, combined for $41.3m in revenue, with $36.3m coming from online operations.
DraftKings, Fox Bet, and Resorts, which operates under the Resorts Digital license followed in second place with a combined $13.6m in betting revenue.
BetMGM, which operates under the Borgata license, took third place in September with $13.4m in revenue.
No other licensee in the state saw revenue pass the $10m mark.
Football dominates the betting space
According to the Garden State’s breakdown of completed events, football was the most popular sport to bet on in September.
Bettors in the Garden State wagered $400.8m on football alone in September, which led to revenue of $10.3m.
Parlay bets were once again the moneymaker in New Jersey, with sportsbooks making $42.3m in revenue from $216.1m in parlay wagers.
Baseball betting accounted for $185.2m of the state’s total handle in September and $6.6m in revenue. Meanwhile, the other sports category accounted for $175.9m in handle and $7.6m in sports betting revenue.
Basketball trailed being with just $22.4m in wagers and $77,049 in sports betting revenue in September.