Part 1: Data review
Chart 2: New Jersey sports betting handle by
channel ($m) June 2018 – January 2019
Chart 3: New Jersey sports betting by channel,
June 2018 – January 2019
400 400
350 350
300 300
250 250
200 200
150 150
100 100
100
90
70
60
80
50
40
30
50
50
0
0
Jun-18
Jul-18
Aug-18
Land-based handle
Sep-18
Oct-18
Online handle
Source: NJDGE
Nov-18
Dec-18
Total handle
Jan-19
20
10
0
Jun-18
Jul-18
Aug-18
Sep-18
Land-based handle (% of total)
Oct-18
Nov-18
Dec-18
Jan-19
Online handle (% of total)
Source: NJDGE
rewarded by an undoubtedly strong
start to proceedings.
The $113m in gross win recorded
in the eight months to January (see
Figure 1) proves that the appetite for
regulated sports betting is as was
predicted by the promoters of New
Jersey’s entrance to the market.
The online/mobile debate
The data is what can be termed a
good start but more than that, a
delve into the detail provided on the
handle (turnover) via both land-
based and online channels provides
some useful ammunition for those
arguing that other markets must
necessarily look at online – and
particularly mobile – if they are to
provide their consumers with a
viable alternative to the offshore
books.
As can be seen, the handle in
land-based venues was by no means
a letdown. The monthly figure rose
(along with the opening of more
venues) from an opening $16.4m
in June to $80.3m in January. In
November it reached a monthly high
of $92.1m.
However, as can be seen from
Chart 2 , the land-based handle
figure was quickly eclipsed by
online. After the first online
sportsbook DraftKings opened in
August – timed for the start of the
NFL season – the market achieved
a handle total of $21.7m for that
month. Subsequently it swiftly rose,
easily overtaking land-based handle
in the second month of opening and
hitting $305m in January this year.
A clearer picture comes from the
chart showing the percentage of
handle by channel. As can be seen
in Chart 3, online now accounts for
more than three-quarters of the
total, nudging towards 80%. This
online dominance poses questions
for any regulators in the US that
believe sports betting should be
confined to venues.
This steady increase in the
percentage of handle flowing
via online versus the steadier
picture for land-based gaming is
understandable given the constant
drip of new operators and products
entering the New Jersey market in
the past six months or more. What
will be interesting in the months
to come will be to see how far the
newer online products drive the
market on.
A mixed picture by sport
What is also evident from the
early New Jersey numbers is the
seasonality of US sports, and with it
US sports betting. We already knew
from Nevada the extent to which the
bookies see their numbers fluctuate
with the ebbs and flows of the US
sporting seasons.
So it is with New Jersey and as
the state was ready for its first NFL
season, it benefitted accordingly. As
the regular NFL season ramped up in
the last quarter of 2018, so the handle
on football also rose (see Table 1).
Basketball will be the next sport
to enjoy a seasonal betting boost
when March Madness comes around,
followed by baseball as the season
gets into full swing (pun intended).
For those looking on from Europe,
what will be interesting will be to
see whether football and tennis, the
mainstays of in-play betting in the rest
of the world, push up the numbers for
the category in New Jersey.
Major League Soccer (MLS) also
got underway at the start of March
New Jersey: data and lessons from the first five years of the US’ leading digital market
7