NJ sees highest volume for retail sportsbooks since Jan. 2019 in March

New Jersey’s casino and sports betting revenue more than doubled in March compared to the same period of the prior year.

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement released numbers Friday that show the nine casinos and three horse tracks that offer sports betting won $359.2 million in March, a nearly 120% growth. The main reason for the statistical increase is the fact that the casinos and tracks were open for a full month this March, while last year they were shut down on March 16 last year due to the pandemic.

Furthermore, the casinos and tracks took $859.6 million worth of sports bets in March, compared with the less than $182 million they handled last March, the Associated Press reports. That is the state's highest monthly handle in a month without football. They kept $60.7 million this March as sports betting revenue after paying out winning bets and covering other expenses.

Fueled by March Madness, basketball accounted for $441.7 million of the state's handle in March, up from $320.3 million in January and $325.8 million in February. Retail sportsbooks generated $79.5 million in bets, the highest volume for retail sportsbooks since January 2019.

Online betting accounted for 90.8%, or $780.1 million, of the state's handle in March. FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet topped the online market with $28.5 million in gross revenue. Online gambling saw nearly $113.7 million in revenue for the operators, up 75% from a year ago.

James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said a more reasonable comparison would be to March of 2019, a year before the pandemic took full hold. By that measure, the casinos increased their revenue this March by over 18%. For instance, both the Borgata and Hard Rock posted identical 178.2% increases compared to a year ago. The Borgata won $89 million, while Hard Rock won $38 million.

Hard Rock president Joe Lupo said his casino was up 25% in terms of its land-based casino revenue compared to March 2019; Atlantic City as a whole was down 17% in the comparable period, he said. He also cited ongoing challenges the casinos face from the ongoing pandemic, including limits on how many guests they can accommodate, and a temporary ban on all indoor smoking. “Obviously, COVID, the occupancy restrictions in place and smoking ban are negatively affecting the market’s ability to fully rebound,” Lupo said.

The Ocean Casino Resort was up 151.3% to $23.8 million; Resorts was up 127.5% to $12.7 million; Caesars was up 95.3% to $18.5 million; Harrah’s was up 83.1% to $17.8 million; and Tropicana was up 73.3% to $26.8 million. The Golden Nugget was up nearly 57% to just under $11 million, and Bally’s more than doubled its revenue to over $10 million.

The Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford led sports betting revenue, accounting for more than half the state’s total with $31.3 million. At the other end of the spectrum, Freehold Raceway reported less than $131,000 in sports betting revenue.