Super Bowl Wagers Grow 116% YoY in New Jersey
With the influence of legal sports wagering gaining traction in the United States, several states broke previous sports betting records during the Super Bowl this weekend. The only exception was Nevada which depends on in-person gambling in Las Vegas for its revenue stream. Hence, earnings dropped to an all-time low since 2016.
“It was supposed to be a major break from COVID. People love coming to Super Bowl parties in Nevada. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this year”, explained Nick Bogdanovich, Director of William Hill sportsbook.
The introduction of online betting was the pivot for most of the states that broke their previous betting records. Since Super Bowl 2019, six states along with Washington DC have legalized online sports betting, allowing approximately 36 million Americans to legally wager from home.
As of the time of publication, sports betting is legal in 20 American states, while five more have passed legislation in its favor and hope to commence services in the near future. According to figures published by Odds.com, $42.7 million of the $45.6 million in wagers placed on Super Bowl LV in Illinois came from online platforms.
Oregon also recorded a massive increase in the amount taken in bets through the state’s Lottery Scoreboard app. Although New Jersey is yet to post official revenue figures for the final month of 2020, initial projections state that almost 93.2% of all wagers arrived from online platforms.
The Jersey Story
Wagers on this year’s Super Bowl in New Jersey was around $117.4 million, a 116% increase since 2020. Initial statistics from Atlantic City show that casinos and race tracks earned $11.3 million during the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the projected payout stood at 106.1 million.
The figures were collected from the 21 sports betting apps and 12 retail sportsbooks in New Jersey. In comparison, barely $54.3 million was wagered in 2020, while the operators lost $4.3 million as the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers. NJ sportsbooks handled a record $6 billion in wagers last year while total revenue was $399 million. The state coffers earned $50 million in taxes during the period.
In December alone, the sports betting handle was $996 million, while $67 million arrived in revenue. New Jersey set a new national handle record for the fifth time in a row during the period.
Tougher Competition in the Coming Days
Gaming Innovation Group just announced its plans to enter the Jersey market with iGaming platform PlayStar Casino by the end of the year. GIG plans to offer its services along with Ocean Resort.
PlayStar isn’t the only big brand casino to enter NJ this year, as at least three other brands have expressed interest in the Atlantic City market. New Jersey is home to over 25 iGaming platforms, and the new entrants will definitely ramp up the competition. It’s not clear whether that’s good or bad news for the long run.