New Jersey marked the third anniversary of its landmark legal win at the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday with sports-betting numbers that showed the Garden State was not immune to the April downturn experienced by its peers.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement announced that the state’s sports-wagering handle last month was nearly US$748 million. Of that, about US$681.2 million flowed from online bets.
Meanwhile, gross revenue from sports wagering — which is total handle minus payouts to winners — was US$54.8 million for April, or around 7.3 percent of all bets.
Both handle and revenue were down from March, when New Jersey reported US$859.6 million in sports-wagering handle, US$780.1 million of which came from online sources. Sports wagering gross revenue was approximately US$60.8 million that month, or about seven percent of all wagers.
The weaker numbers in April have been common among states that have reported last month’s figures. New Jersey, for instance, was joined by Michigan on Friday in announcing that wagering numbers had taken a step back in April compared to March, which was due in part to a weaker slate of sporting events.
A notable date
New Jersey was among the first jurisdictions in the United States to legalize sports betting after the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Friday marked the third anniversary of that May 14, 2018 decision, which had been brought about by the attempts of the New Jersey government to permit sports betting within its borders.
Including April’s numbers, the year-to-date sports-betting handle for New Jersey is now more than US$3.3 billion.
Among licensees, Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment was first in terms of sports-wagering revenue in April, with US$29.1 million. The racetrack is partnered with both FanDuel and PointsBet, with the trio also tops in year-to-date revenue at US$134.4 million.
Total gaming taxes (including those paid on sports-betting revenue) were US$36 million in New Jersey for April, down from US$37.7 million in March.
