Sports betting has grown in popularity over the past few years and continues to reach new heights as sportsbooks become more accessible to sports bettors across the country. What was once illegal is now much more tolerated by legislators and decision-makers.
While Nevada long stood as the sports betting giant, it is starting to see a wide range of competition pop up as more states make efforts toward legalization. New Jersey is one of the states that poses the biggest threat to Nevada, and it’s not done surprising the industry.
The state started to raise a lot of eyebrows in August when it set a national record with a total of $668 million in total wagers throughout the entire month. The previous record, which was set in November 2019 by Nevada, was $614 million — shattering the old record.
New Jersey Didn’t Stop There
After setting the record in August, New Jersey continued to surprise the sports betting industry in September. It broke its own record with a whopping $748.6 million in total wagers. Again, these are numbers that no state in the country has ever seen — even Nevada.
And if you thought New Jersey was done there, it wasn’t. The most recent results for the month of October were just released, and New Jersey, yet again, broke its own record with an incredible $803 million in total wagers. That’s compared to the $315 million in total wagers it reported in October of 2019.
The $803 million reported in October of 2020 included nearly $744 million in online wagers and $59 million in in-person wagers. It’s no surprise, considering the current COVID-19 pandemic is making it unsafe for sports bettors to visit their favorite sportsbooks.
Those aren’t the only numbers that were released. The state also reported $58.5 million in revenue, with a majority of that revenue coming from Meadowlands (FanDuel and PointsBet) and Resort (DraftKings and FoxBet).
Meadowlands reported nearly $30 million in revenue, while Resort reported just under $15 million in revenue.
The state’s recent $803 million in total wagers put it over $4 billion on the year. It is just about $600 million under its $4.6 billion in total wagers throughout all of 2019 — a number it will likely surpass by the end of the year, if not the end of November.
New Jersey Likes Football Bets
In October, $279 million of the total $803 million wagers came from football bets. Not included in that $279 million is the $171.5 million in parlay bets, another number that will stay strong in the coming months.
With the football season still underway, sportsbooks still have a lot to look forward to. The NFL will enter Week 12 next week and have six weeks remaining (five before the end of 2020).
In addition to that, the college football season will enter Week 13 and has several games remaining before the regular season ends. Of course, then you have bowl games and the Super Bowl to look forward to at the start of 2021.
Plenty to look forward to if you’re a fan of sports betting — football in particular!