New Jersey Sports Betting Revenues Soar in June
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has released its June revenue report for the state's bustling legal sports betting industry and the best sports betting apps.
The report revealed an expected month-over-month drop in both handle and revenues, but also a surprising spike in year-over-year profits for the Garden State's retail sector and New Jersey sports betting apps.
Sports betting activity in New Jersey at the fell to its lowest point since August in June. But thanks to a solid hold rate from the best sportsbooks, revenues for the state's providers and subsequent contributions to needy state and local tax coffers remained relatively high.
New Jersey June handle
Bettors in the Garden State spent a total of $591,081,897 with their retail sportsbooks and sports betting sites in June. That number represents a healthy 24.1% drop from the $778,854,263 spent in May, and it's less than half of the record $1.349 billion handle from January 2022.
The $591 million is the lowest sports betting total for New Jersey since August and is a 6.6% year-over-year drop from the $633,184,861 wagered on sports in June 2022.
It was reported that $558,624,130 of the $591 million came from New Jersey sports betting apps in June. $32.46 million was wagered with the state's retail providers last month.
Good news and bad news on the revenue front
Revenues from New Jersey's legal sports betting industry understandably dropped month-over-month because of the dip in overall sports betting activity. But year-over-year revenue numbers jumped dramatically, thanks in part to a near doubling of the hold rate from June 2022.
New Jersey sports betting apps, along with the state's retail sports wagering sector, reported $66,356,838 in gross gaming revenues for June 2023, which is 19.2% or about $15.8 million less than the $82,165,404 in May. Sports betting providers in the Garden State held 11.2% in June, the highest hold rate since September 2022, and an increase from 10.5% in May.
Year-over-year revenue increases are the major story out of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement June earnings report. Revenues of $66.357 million are an impressive 69.1% increase from the $39.2 million that sports betting providers in the Garden State made in June 2022. The hold rate for sportsbooks in June 2022 was just 6.2%, compared to the 11.2% last month.
New Jersey legal sports betting providers paid $9.2 million in taxes to state and local coffers.
Year-to-date New Jersey numbers
With the end of June came the close of the first half of the year, and that gives us a chance to see just how the legal sports betting industry is doing in New Jersey compared to the first half of 2022.
The numbers show some improvement for the best New Jersey sports betting apps and the year-over-year profits despite a downturn in overall legal sports betting activity in the state.
The Garden State sportsbooks have totalled $5,159,334,954 in wagers through the first six months of 2023. That's down from about $5.782 billion for the first half of 2022.
Profits for New Jersey sportsbooks for the first half of 2023 are a different story. Thet came in at $440.8 million, which is an impressive 42% jump from the $308.7 million in revenues the Garden State sports betting providers saw from January to June 2022. A higher hold rate for New Jersey sportsbooks is the main reason for the increase.
It remains to be seen if New Jersey will ever reach its legal sports betting heights the state enjoyed before the evolution of the New York sports betting scene. But June’s numbers, despite the dropoffs, prove that the Garden State’s industry is strong, and it's a reliable jurisdiction in the broader U.S. legal sports betting market.
