New Jersey Betting Handle Eclipses $1 Billion in September

As sports betting continues to boom in the Garden State, a new record has been set. The sportsbooks in New Jersey, both online and land-based, raked in $1.01 Billion in revenue during September.

This marks the first time that a single state has surpassed $1 billion in sports betting handle for a single month. The previous record was $996.3 million (December 2020), also recorded by NJ.

Simply put, the days of Las Vegas anchoring Nevada as the leading sports betting market are gone.

According to a report by vsin.com, “New Jersey owns every single one of the top 10 months in sports betting handle among the 28 states with legal and operational sports betting since sports betting was legalized nationwide in May of 2018.”

NJ sportsbooks being on the uptick last month is a direct correlation with the arrival of the 2021 NFL season.

New Jersey sportsbooks flourished in September, and the determinant was the start of the NFL season (September 9^th). Not only did the state set a new high in handle, but the $82 million in gross revenue is also a new record.

Thomas Gable, the sportsbook director at The Borgata in Atlantic City, stated that the massive hold in September didn’t come as a surprise.

Of the state’s $82 million in profits, The Meadowlands Racetrack (adjacent to MetLife Stadium) was responsible for half that total.

According to legalsportsreport.com, the mobile betting market is responsible for around 80% of the handle in New Jersey. That equated to more than $800 million in bets being placed last month just on smartphones and tablets.

As that number starts to sink in, check out how New York stacks up – a state that doesn’t permit mobile betting.

Sports betting is legal in both New York (no mobile) and New Jersey.

Sept. 2021 handle in New York: $17 million

Sept. 2021 handle in New Jersey: $1.01 BILLION

— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) October 19, 2021

New Jersey state officials can celebrate these figures for now but should start bracing for a significant drop-off in the coming months.

This is on the heels of New York working tirelessly to pass a bill that allows mobile betting in time for Super Bowl 56.

New Jersey has come a long way since reporting a $16.4 million handle during its first month of operation (June 2018). The state has exceeded $7 billion in handle in 2021 with a full quarter to go.

There are currently nine casinos and three racetracks that accept bets on-site, but it’s the convenience of mobile betting that has enabled NJ to zoom to the top.

Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute of Gaming at Stockton University, echoed this sentiment.

It’s evident that the sports betting industry in New Jersey is positioned to thrive. September was their first month outpacing $1 billion in monthly revenue. It won’t be their last.