This is the first downturn in New Jersey’s sports betting market this year, although year-on-year gains in sports betting remain high.
This is backed up by continued momentum at online casinos, where betting volume remains high.
The $927m generated from New Jersey’s sports betting markets is still up 24% on April 2021, when Covid-19 continued to hamper operations.
April’s handle was down 17%, however, from $1.1bn in March. However, March’s figure was given a boost by the hugely popular NCAA Basketball competition, commonly referred to as March Madness.
It is, perhaps, because of March’s success that New Jersey’s April started to stutter; it is the first month of 2022 in which year-over-year gains were less than 31% (which is still a high number).
April’s bets produced $50.3m in operating revenue, down 8% year-on-year and 24% from March 2022. This is hardly unexpected, though, given the fever surrounding March Madness.
But April did also play host to the NBA Playoffs and the Final Four, buoying sportsbooks with $323.4m in straight wagers.
Basketball has now generated $2bn in revenue for New Jersey since the start of 2022. Straight wagering for April alone, despite a growth stunt, was up 84% over the prior-year period.
Of April’s $1.1bn handle, $863.1m came from online sportsbooks, highlighting the growing dominance of online operations over brick-and-mortar outlets. Economic headwinds caused by rising inflation may also be affecting brick-and-mortar casinos.
And within the online vertical, it was FanDuel that topped the market with $29.2m generated in gross revenue; DraftKings was second with $7.4m in revenue.
Meanwhile, New Jersey’s online casino and poker rooms made $136.9m in revenue for April, with a daily rolling average of $4.6m.
April’s win rate for online casino and poker was also up 27% from $107m last year, an increase which yielded $20.5m in state taxes and fees.
Of New Jersey’s regulated online casino operators, Borgata led revenue with $39.9m for April.
