March Madness Pushes New Jersey Sportsbooks to Record Month, According to PlayNJ.com
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., April 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- New Jersey's online and retail sportsbooks scored a record win and near-record monthly handle in March as the industry crossed the $2 billion mark in bets since legalization. The spike was fueled overwhelmingly by the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, according to PlayNJ.com analysts.
"The first week of March Madness generated more action than the Super Bowl, and even the First Four games attracted enough betting to rival a busy weekend of NFL regular season football," said Dustin Gouker, lead sports betting analyst for PlayNJ.com. "That is unquestionably a massive success and shows clearly the importance of college basketball to the Northeast's legal sports betting markets."
New Jersey's online and retail sportsbooks accepted $372.5 million in March bets, just shy of the record $385.3 million in January, according to official reporting. New Jersey's online and retail sportsbooks have now accepted $2.3 billion in bets since legalization in June 2018.
March revenue was $31.7 million, up 150 percent from $12.7 million in February. The win and a high-water gross revenue mark for the state's online casinos combined in March to generate more than $70 million in monthly revenue.
"$2 billion in bets in nine months shows just how much pent-up demand for legal sports betting existed in New Jersey," Gouker said. "As quickly as the industry has ramped up, though, the next milestone should come more quickly. $3 billion is certainly within reach by the industry's first anniversary in June."
New Jersey's online sportsbook brands accounted for $298,3 million, or 80.8 percent, of total March bets. That's even with the 80.8 percent of bets that flowed through online sportsbooks in February.
FanDuel Sportsbook/Pointsbet was the dominant online sportsbook, beating rival DraftKings Sportsbook, with $13.3 million in gross revenue, up from $6.59 million in February. DraftKings fueled Resorts' $7.3 million in March, up from $3.7 million in February.
FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands remained tops in the retail market with $4.3 million in March gross revenue, up from $1.5 million in February. Monmouth Park followed FanDuel with $986,251.
"Online sports betting will continue to drive the market, and product innovations will likely bear much more fruit in the near future," Gouker said. "New Jersey's sportsbooks already offer the most advanced online product of any legal sports betting jurisdiction, and bettors have continually responded."
LEGAL ONLINE CASINOS
New Jersey's online casino and poker industry extended its run of record-breaking months of March, nearly reaching the $40 million gross revenue threshold for the first time. Legal online gambling generated $39.1 million in March gross revenue, up 53 percent from $25.6 million in March 2018 and up 23 percent from $31.8 million in February.
The industry generated $1.3 million per day during the 31 days of March, up from the $1.1 million per day in the 28 days of February. With the new record, the industry has now posted an all-time monthly revenue record in every March since New Jersey launched online casinos in late 2013.
"Online sports betting is clearly driving online casino growth," said Steve Ruddock, lead online gambling analyst for PlayNJ.com. "March has become a predictable spark for New Jersey's online gambling industry and a first-half indicator for what gains the industry will make in the second half of the year. That pattern should continue this year."
For more, visit PlayNJ.com/news.
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SOURCE PlayNJ.com
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