The NJ sports betting market hit a total that could take a while to be topped – or maybe the Garden State might again top itself next month.

Bettors put up $748.6 million with legal New Jersey sportsbooks in September. That’s a new monthly record for both the state and the US sports betting market as a whole, topping last month’s record by 12.1%.

The addition of college football and NFL betting to an already packed sports month helped push the market to a new height. The three-quarters of a billion dollars in handle is the up 68% from last September’s $445.6 million.

New Jerseyans wagered $494.8 million on sports during the month, the fourth-largest monthly total since the vertical became legal, driven by Super Bowl and this year's Leap Day. February is also the 21st consecutive reporting period of monthly gaming revenue increases for Atlantic City casinos. Online gaming revenue was a reported $52 million, an increase of 63.7% over last year. While the revenue from NJ sports betting taxes will go back into the areas where the tracks are located. So the gambling winnings tax will go to making sports betting and gambling a better industry in New Jersey.

More than $9 out of every $10 was bet online in September with mobile handle of $678.7 million, or 90.6% of the total.

Revenue did not hit a new record, according to the state report. Operators kept $45.1 million in September, good for 6% hold. That still the third-highest sports betting revenue total for NJ since launch in 2018.

NJ sports betting handle could have been higher

Looking at last year’s results, there’s a chance 2020 handle would have approached or topped $800 million in handle with more college football.

Bettors wagered $188.6 million on completed football games last September. That figure fell to $159.5 million this year.

Multiple college conferences either modified, delayed or canceled their fall sports seasons, including the Big Ten and Pac-12.

‘Other’ still the largest piece of the pie

Of the $738.3 million bet on completed events in September, the “other” category took the largest share with $208.3 million, or 28.2%.

That likely had a lot to do with the NHL Playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals wrapping up at the end of September. Basketball, another sport not typically on the September betting menu, added $98.8 million in completed event handle.

September staple baseball had $115.3 million bet on completed events.

Overall, football accounted for 21.6% of the total and was the highest-bet single sport.

Usual suspects take top revenue spots

Once again, the Meadowlands and its two partners, FanDuel Sportsbook and PointsBet, took the top revenue spot with $28.2 million. More than $25 million of that revenue came from online.

Resorts Digital, partnered with DraftKings Sportsbook and FOX Bet, was second with $4.8 million.

BetMGM partner Borgata did $4.1 million in third place while Monmouth Park and partners William Hill, theScore Bet and Rush Street‘s PlaySugarHouse finished in fourth with $3.5 million.

How long could this record stand?

Unless Nevada pulls off impressive growth over August, it looks like this record US sports betting handle could stick around for a while.

Nevada sports betting handle would have to jump 57.6% over August’s total to pull in the same amount as NJ sports betting did last month.

More college football conferences are playing in October than September, but likely not enough for New Jersey to pass $750 million this year without NHL, just five NBA Finals games and fewer baseball games during the MLB postseason.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s fast-growing sports betting market blew past its own national record in September, taking in more than $748 million in bets from sports gamblers finally able to wager on football amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Figures released Thursday from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show Atlantic City’s nine casinos and the three horse racing tracks that offer sports betting handled over $748 million in bets, easily surpassing the national monthly record they set just a month earlier, when $668 million was wagered on sports in August.

Both figures easily eclipsed what had been the U.S. record of $614 million set in Nevada in Nov. 2019.

So far this year, New Jersey casinos and tracks have taken in nearly $3.3 billion in sports bets alone. That equals or surpasses what Atlantic City used to make in an entire year from casino gambling before sports betting was legalized.

New Jersey won a U.S. Supreme Court case in 2018 allowing all 50 states to offer legal sports betting should they so choose. It quickly dominated the East Coast market and challenged Nevada for the national lead.

The $748 million includes the total amount of bets accepted by the casinos and tracks; after paying off winning bets and expenses, they kept $45 million of that total.

Nj Sports Gambling Revenues

Including casino games, the gambling industry in New Jersey won $323.2 million in September, an increase of 6.5% over last September, when there was no pandemic and casinos were operating at full capacity. Casinos are currently limited to 25% occupancy as a precaution to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Borgata won $64 million in September, down 2.8% from a year earlier. Golden Nugget won $37.5 million, up 16.3%; Hard Rock won $35.8 million, up 12.5%, and the Ocean Casino Resort won $29.5 million, up nearly 22%.

The Tropicana won $26.1 million, down nearly 10%; Harrah’s won $19.5 million, down 26.6%, and Caesars won $18.9%, down 1.8%.

Nj Sports Gambling Tax Revenue

Resorts won $13.9%, down 7.5%; and Bally’s won $12.9%, down 15.6%.

Nj Sports Gambling Revenue

The Ocean Casino showed the largest percentage increase in September revenue in Atlantic City, and CEO Terry Glebocki said that was due to serval factors.

“The combination of Labor Day weekend and the return of indoor dining, limited to 25%, afforded us the opportunity in September to continue the momentum created here at Ocean,” she said. “Our guests have enjoyed dining again at their favorite restaurants within our casino resort, and our year-over-year gaming revenue growth of nearly 27% is indicative of the successes we have achieved.”

Nj Sports Gambling Revenue

James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, was heartened by the pace of recovery of casino gambling revenue.

“Casino win was 85 percent of last September’s performance, aided by the reopening of casino restaurants on September 4, and the resumption of food and beverage service on casino floors,” he said. “These results were promising in the midst of continuing travel advisories that decrease visits from out of state, as well as restrictions on capacity, amenities and entertainment that have made 2020 not reasonably comparable to last year.”

Internet gambling revenue was $87.6 million in September, up 113% from the $41.1 million it produced in Sept. 2019.

The Freehold Raceway began taking in-person bets on Sept. 24, making it the third horse racing track in the New Jersey sports betting market. It has not yet been approved for mobile sports betting and reported a loss of almost $45,000 in the final week of the month.

The Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, near New York City, continued to dominate sports betting in the state, with $28.1 million in revenue in September. Monmouth Park in Oceanport, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) east of Freehold near the Jersey Shore, made nearly $3.5 million.

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