New Jersey Cements Its Status as US Legal Sports Betting King

It was widely expected that the month of September was going to be a boon for the legal sports betting industry in the US. Industry analysts and casual observers of the platform alike had their eyes on the monthly report of the reigning King of the US Legal Sports Betting industry, New Jersey to see just how big a spike we would see, aided from arguably the most extensive betting menus ever in the US scene.

Well, the wait is over and New Jersey produced a predictable monthly handle record. Thanks to a full month of NFL football along with the NBA, NHL, and MLB all participating in the playoffs, the Garden State was able to eclipse its own monthly handle record from August by $80 million with its incredible September $748.6 million haul. This according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

A Deeper Dive

The exact September handle figure out of New Jersey was $748,588,349 which represents a 12.1% increase from its previous monthly handle high of $667,979,150 which came in August. Year-over-year, New Jersey's September handle was up 68% from this time last year when the platform took in $445,563,503.

Prior to the last two months in New Jersey, Nevada held the record for monthly sports betting handle with its $614.1 million in bets taken in from November, 2019.

Betting revenues for September also hit meteoric heights. New Jersey's sportsbooks reported $45,083,178 in revenues for September, up 14.1% from August’s $39,507,181 and 19% year-over-year from the September, 2019 haul of $37,883,375.

September’s figures allowed New Jersey to surpass $3.3 in bets in this calendar year compared to $2.96 billion over the same period last year.

Mobile Still Dominating

To nobody's surprise, New Jersey's mobile betting platform continued to dominate in September, recording yet another monthly record in terms of the money it took in. The Garden's State's mobile platform was responsible for $678,745,374 of the $748,588,349 total September handle, or 90.7%, which is a new high-water mark for mobile, both in the state and nationally.

It's also a 12.8% increase over August’s $601,942,486 and an incredible 81.4% rise from September 2019, when apps brought in $374,246,343. Retail betting was responsible for just $69.8 million.

Revenue from Online Gambling, including online casinos, lottery, and igaming was $87.6 million in September, up 113% from the $41.1 million it produced in September, 2019 and so far, this year, online revenues from mobile betting alone have topped $685 million.

Questions Resulting From the Impressive Haul

While New Jersey's September handle answered a lot of questions, it also raised a few. Could the state actually hit $1 billion in handle in the future? Where exactly is the ceiling for the legal sports betting industry in New Jersey or any other state for that matter?

While such an extensive betting menu was certainly a rarity for the sports bettor, the sentiment is that New Jersey’s, and possibly other’s legal scene will still see significant growth going forward.

With Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Nevada yet to report their September betting handles, can the national monthly handle reach $3 billion?

Sure, pent-up demand and the unusual times we are living through that saw all of North America’s Major sports running simultaneously may never happen again, but all signs point to the US legal sports betting industry continuing to grow. Just how much remains to be seen.