NJ Shatters Sports Betting Handle Records As NY Threat Grows

2022 is already off to an impressive start in the USA sports betting scene. New states are throwing their hats in the ring, and the most interesting bit about the expansion is that newcomers appear to be besting even the long-time top dogs. The Empire State, New Jersey’s neighbor to the North, got the industry talking after entering the US online and mobile sports betting scene on January 8th. Since its debut, NY has been touted as the successor of New Jersey on the throne of regulated sports betting in America.

True to the speculation, New York punters hit the ground running when online and mobile sports betting went live within state lines. While The Empire State only saw action in three weeks of January, the state hit an all-time first month and all-time overall record within 21 days. Sports bettors wagered a whopping $1.62 billion in January 2022, beating New Jersey’s $1.349 billion monthly handle for the same month.

While The Garden State’s performance was blown out of the water by New York’s spawning market that wasn’t even a month old, we still must give NJ some credit. With January’s handle, New Jersey sports bettors beat their previous record of $1.303 billion in October, which was a first in US sports betting history.

And speaking of breaking records, New Jersey has been in the record-breaking business for much longer than New York. New Yorkers wagered a total of $6 billion during the 2020 fiscal year and $10.93 billion in 2021, surpassing the previous year by over 40%. The enormous 11-figure handle was made possible as the last four months of 2021 were the highest performance seen in any state in the history of sports betting. Counting January 2022, the Garden State managed to bring in a handle of more than $1 billion each month for five straight months!

New Jersey Showing Consistent Growth Despite Competition

New York launched an online and mobile sports betting market reinforced by partnerships with popular and well-equipped casino operating companies. So it’s no wonder why gaming analysts and betting enthusiasts made conclusions as to the impact this would have on New Jersey. For starters, at the time, it seemed obvious that players would start jaunting to the Empire State to get a taste of the newly established markets, hurting New Jersey handles in the process.

On the contrary, immediately after New York’s launch, the Garden State’s weekly handle went up 4% from the previous two weekends. This is despite GeoComply reporting that 9.3% of people who participated in sports betting in New York within the first 10 days after the legalization had previously placed wagers with New Jersey bookmakers.

David Danzis, a PlayNJ.com analyst, cautioned that it would take a couple of months before the effects of New York’s legalization can be conclusively reported upon. He said:

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“Sportsbooks have dealt with neighbors legalizing mobile sports betting before and continue to thrive, and it will take a few months before we know for certain the true impact of New York. But January’s results are certainly encouraging, showing that New Jersey’s gaming industry can weather New York’s expansion.”

Danzis went ahead to say that in case of a significant effect to New Jersey, the Meadowlands by FanDuel stands to be the worst-hit sportsbook. He noted,

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“No retail operator in New Jersey will be more impacted by New York’s sports betting expansion than FanDuel’s Meadowlands sportsbook. FanDuel has dominated both the online and retail markets since the beginning, in part, because of its close proximity to New York City. For the first time since New Jersey launched sports betting, FanDuel’s market supremacy in the state is threatened.”

Regarding the stability of New Jersey’s sports gambling markets against other states and the effect of the NFL playoffs on January handles, PlayUSA.com Network analyst Eric Ramsey commented,

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“With the expanded NFL schedule and a favorable calendar, most states will set a sports betting record in January. But only New Jersey saw their most important feeder market turn into competition. Ultimately, having such a busy sports calendar in January did seem to help soften the impact of New York’s launch”.

All Eyes On the “Centers for Regulated Sports Betting.”

When the bill was being passed to allow regulated sports gaming in New York, all the big sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, Rush Street, BetMGM got first dibs as the officially approved bookmakers to operate in the state. All have expressed confidence in the potential of the New York market. Even WynnBET has just joined its peers to host New York sports betting. The markets are being closely monitored from all fronts as the coming months will be a major determinant of whether history gets rewritten or not.

FanDuel Director of publicity and spokesperson Kevin Hennessy was optimistic for the two markets citing the Winter Olympics, the NHL All-Star Game, and the Super Bowl’s imminence and the interest the Buffalo Bills playoff had sparked in fans and punters. He also said,

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“Legal sports betting in New York has exceeded all of our expectations. New York and New Jersey combined are practically the center of legal sports betting in the United States. We are thrilled with how many New York customers have signed up to the FanDuel Sportsbook, and we continue to see New Jersey as a growing market.”

New Jersey has been at the frontlines of sports betting legalization, especially after the state’s early attempts to amend its constitution in 2011 to allow regulated sports gambling. This resulted in the National Collegiate Athletic Association suing the Garden State and their subsequent success in the Murphy v. NCAA case that led to the repealing of the federal PASPA Bill in 2018.

Of course, the PASPA reversal was a watershed moment that has since seen gambling revenue spike in the last few years as more and more states move to legalize sports betting. Following a recent migration of bettors to online gambling and the positive results of gambling returns for states that had already authorized sports gambling, over 50% of the 50 US states have passed bills to legalize sports betting. As more US states jump into the regulated online and mobile sports betting bandwagon, it will be interesting to see how the NJ vs. NY showdown unfolds.