New Jersey Smashes U.S. Monthly Sports Betting Mark

New Jersey is but one of eight states that currently allow both sports betting and online casino gambling. Through the first four months of the COVID19 pandemic, New Jersey's gambling operators had to rely on casino websites to keep the entire gambling ecosystem from falling apart. As the only "game in town", New Jersey gamblers were more than willing to play online casino games of chance while waiting for other opportunities to open.

The first sign of life for sports gamblers came when MLB finally started its regular season during the second week of July. The league was soon joined by the NHL and NBA. As was predictable, all of the pent up demand for sports gambling, retail and online, sent New Jersey's sports betting revenue to new heights.

The numbers are in for the month of August and to say the numbers were smashing would be a gross understatement. All New Jersey bookmakers did was record the highest single month of sports betting revenue in U.S. history. For the month, New Jersey residents wagered $668 million on sports. That number easily surpasses the $562 million recorded in Nevada back in November of 2019. BTW: Bookmakers brought in just under $40 million in profits for the month.

The contribution of internet sports gamblers cannot be understated. New Jersey online bookmakers reported just over $87 million in net profits for August, more than double the amount that was recorded in August of 2019.

With New Jersey casinos operating at 25% capacity and racetracks operating without patrons, bookmakers played the role of hero for the entire New Jersey gambling industry. In the end, the state's gambling industry came through August with a mere decrease of 7.5% compared to August 2019. That's quite impressive when considering New Jersey's entire gambling industry was in full flight last year before the pandemic.

James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, remarked on the industry's recovery in a press release:

“Recovery is underway, even with continuing travel advisories that decreased visits from out of state. Atlantic City’s casino win was almost 70 percent of last August’s strong performance, although the months are not reasonably comparable because of restrictions on capacity, amenities, and entertainment.”

With the NFL officially underway, experts are anticipating huge wagering numbers for the month of September. They won't say it, but everyone is eyeing the possibility of a $1.0+ billion month.