"Atlantic City benefits from a boost in summer tourism, but July is a time when summer travel and busy schedules put online sports betting in the backseat, particularly for locals," said David Danzis, Lead Analyst for PlayNJ.com.
Online and retail sportsbooks took over $578m worth of bets in July, down 25% from $766m in June. July 2021 was up 84% from $315m in July 2020, a month with the relaunch of baseball and the beginning of the NBA bubble. Gross gaming revenue was $55m.
Online operators generated $529m in wagers for July – 91.5% of July's statewide handle. FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet topped online operators with $29m in gross revenue, down from $38m in May.
Retail sportsbooks made $49m in wagers, down from $83m in June. Meadowlands/FanDuel topped all retail sportsbooks in July with $2m in revenue.
"Casual sports bettors engage with sportsbooks less frequently in the heart of the summer," Danzis said.
"But the good news for sportsbooks is that sports betting will soon start to gain momentum as casual bettors return home from summer vacations and begin to turn their focus to football."
Meanwhile, online casinos and poker rooms collectively won $118m in gross gaming revenue in July, the best month ever for the state. The previous record was $113m in March of this year.
July’s figure was an increase of almost 36% from July 2020, when casinos had just begun to reopen after a temporary shutdown due to the pandemic.
Through seven months of 2021, online casino games and poker have generated $753m in revenue, up 47% from $510m through the same period in 2020.
