New Jersey’s sportsbooks have bucked the trend of a ‘summer slowdown’ after reporting a surge in wagers to $800 million in May, according to PlayNJ.
Throughout the month, bettors placed $814.3 million in wagers at both online and retail sportsbooks across the Garden State – marking a 591.1% increase on the $117.8 million wagered in May 2020, and a near 9% rise on April’s $748 million.
“Sportsbooks have been able to capitalize on the NBA playoffs to shallow the typical summer slowdown, online casinos continue to generate huge revenue, and Atlantic City is getting busier,” said Dustin Gouker, analyst for PlayNJ.com.
“New Jersey’s gaming industry appears healthier than anyone would have thought possible a year ago.”
May’s bets produced $52.9 million in revenue, up 433.6% from $9.9 million in May 2020. The month’s win yielded $7.9 million in taxes.
“New Jersey’s sports betting market has not only grown into the largest in the U.S., but it has evolved into the state that is least affected by the seasonality of sports betting,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayNJ.com.
“No market can entirely escape the natural ebbs and flows, of course. But New Jersey is less reliant on football and sports betting holidays than any other major U.S. market.”
An overwhelming majority of bets placed in New Jersey were placed online, with $736.7 million bet in May, accounting for 90.2%. Meanwhile retail sportsbooks took in $79.6 million wagers in May, up 43.7% from $55.4 million in May 2019.
FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet topped online operators with $29.8 million in gross revenue. Meadowlands/FanDuel led all retail books with $4.8 million in revenue in May.
The biggest draw was the NBA, which piqued bettors’ interest with playoff appearances by the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers. In all, basketball betting produced $216.7 million in bets, up from the $176.2 million in April.
“Success from regional teams almost always gives a market a boost, and basketball is particularly popular with New Jersey bettors,” Gouker said. “Even more, after a year of strict capacity limits and with so many regional favorites in the NBA Playoffs, bettors seemed particularly motivated to get out and place a bet. All of it is great news for a gaming market on the mend.”
