The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement on Wednesday released its monthly revenue figures, reporting a total handle of $95.6 million and gross revenue of $9.18 million for the sportsbooks across the eight  licensed NJ sportsbooks that reported on the month’s operations. Â
That’s a hold or win percentage of 9.6. The August report includes for the first time dollars connected to online sports betting, which produced a total of $2.97 million on a $21.7 million handle, or an online hold (win percentage) of roughly 15 percent. The vast majority of both figures are attributable to the DraftKings Sportsbook — meaning DraftKings alone accounted for almost exactly one-third of the monthly revenue.
On Aug. 1, the DraftKings Sportsbook (operating under Resorts Casino’s license) went live in a soft launch, before opening for the masses on Aug. 6, with an app on Android and iOS systems and through a web-based platform. Additional mobile/online options contributing a bit to the online figures came online toward the end of the month with the launches of the playMGM app (via The Borgata) on Aug. 22 and the PlaySugarHouse Sportsbook (via Golden Nugget) on Aug. 23.
New Jersey Sports Betting Generates $9.18 Million as DraftKings Sportsbook Dominates in First Month of Operations, and FanDuel Sportsbook at Meadowland Leads Way in Retail
Here’s the gross gaming revenue breakdown by property (physical sportsbook receipts):
- Meadowlands Racetrack (FanDuel Sportsbook): $3.06M
- Monmouth Park (William Hill Race & Sportsbook): $898K
- The Borgata (MGM): $855K
- Ocean Resort: (William Hill Race & Sportsbook): $519K
- Harrah’s Casino (Caesars Entertainment): $298K
- Bally’s AC (Caesars Entertainment): $268K (opened July 30)
- Golden Nugget: $215K
- Resorts: $98.1K
Consider that Golden Nugget and Resorts only opened on Aug. 15, with all the others coming in July or early August.
Breakdown by online/mobile sportsbook:
- DraftKings Sportsbook: $2.97 million
- playMGM (Borgata):Â $49.6K
- SugarHouse (via Golden Nugget):$103K
What’s in it for New Jersey and What’s Ahead?
In addition to ancillary benefits, New Jersey collected $921,702 in taxes, with DraftKings kicking in $386,143 of that lot. Note that taxes on in-person retail wagering gross revenue is 8.5 percent versus 13 percent for online betting.
Four additional mobile/web sports betting options have hit the market since the close of August, just before the start of the NFL season: FanDuel Sportsbook, William Hill, Caesars and 888sports via Caesars.
Plenty of options now exist for New Jersey sports bettors to consider.
Overall, it was a pretty impressive month of August for the daily fantasy operators-turned-sportsbooks with the Meadowlands Racetrack’s FanDuel Sportsbook’s domination in the retail space and DraftKings’ performance online.
The year-to-date handle for New Jersey sports betting is now $152.7 million, and likely to explode to somewhere in the $250-$300 million vicinity in September with the NFL and college football seasons in full swing, seven online sportsbooks, growing spaces in sportsbook lounges and Pennsylvanians (and of course New Yorkers) still waiting for legal sportsbooks within their borders.
