The Garden State released its November sports betting report and the numbers continue to set records with FanDuel and DraftKings leading the way
This may sound like a broken record, but New Jersey sports betting numbers continue to break records. The DGE released its November summary report last week, and suffice it to say that sports betting continues to be alive and well in the state, with handle numbers larger than have ever been recorded.
In November 2019, $562,675,543 was wagered on sports, setting a new record for handle in any one single month. This crushed the previous record of $488 million set only one month prior. With all the major fall and winter sports leagues in the U.S. now in full action as well as the college sports like basket heating up, this is an excellent sign that bettors in New Jersey are continuing to be interested in betting across all sports.
Also continuing to grow is the amount of handle in New Jersey coming from online play. November saw that number skyrocket to almost $487 million, or 86% of all the action taken. This is no surprise, as even with all the retail outlets available to bettors, being able to play from an app or a computer is far and away the most popular method.
The usual suspects at the top
November did not see any new entrants into the market (Freehold and Atlantic City Race Course have yet to announce partnerships or a launch date for sports), and the top sports once again were reserved for the two heavyweights in the state, Draft Kings and Fanduel. Although the numbers weren’t broken down by skin but by license, the two largest revenue generators were Meadowlands (where Fanduel is the lead book) and Resorts (Draft Kings partner). These two licenses accounted for over $21 million of the $33 million in overall revenues in November in the state.
Hold Percentages are in line
Handle is always a good indicator of the interest in betting form the public, but the hold percentage tells a much different story. The good news for New Jersey sportsbooks is that the hold in November amounted to 5.88%, which is better than the historical average from the Nevada numbers (4.99%). This is likely due to the amount of novice betting that takes place, along with some significant upsets across all the sports during the month.
Growth in spite of competition
Another positive sign for New Jersey’s sports betting industry is the continued growth in numbers despite Pennsylvania now being open for business. While there may have been some transient business coming to New Jersey from that border, the numbers are showing no effects at all from players deciding to remain in Pennsylvania to make their bets.
Of course, the proximity of New Jersey to Manhattan is without question contributing to the generous handle numbers in the Garden State. However, there does not appear to be impending action to add mobile betting to the New York landscape at this time, giving New Jersey sportsbooks a chance to drive revenue from across the river for a while longer.
What’s next?
As the holidays approach, it isn’t likely that any of the new online skins that are still on the sidelines will launch. It is more likely to see a couple of those entities join the fray in the New Year as the Superbowl approaches. December is traditionally a good month for sports betting as there are more people off for the holidays and the schedules of the league take that into consideration. With Saturday NFL games and Christmas Day NBA featured games, we expect the December numbers in New Jersey to continue to show growth through the end of the calendar year.