The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported $81.9 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for August on Tuesday as Garden State sportsbooks notched a double-digit hold for the fourth consecutive month.
The 10.1% win rate for August helped sportsbooks match the longest double-digit hold streak in state history, established from May-August 2023. Twelve of New Jersey’s 16 months with holds of 10% or higher have come since May 2023.
Revenue surged 30.6% compared to last year while handle climbed 16.5% to $814.3 million. Operator winnings could have been higher, but Fanatics reported a $4.1 million loss. That again raised the possibility of a big win by a rumored “whale” who has been wagering through both Fanatics and DraftKings in recent months in both New York and New Jersey.
Was it the ‘whale’? Did someone hit a parlay?
The existence of a big-time bettor or bettors in the New York-New Jersey area gained steam in recent weeks as Fanatics put up a whopping $506 million handle in the Empire State from Aug. 11-31 and DraftKings accepted $205.3 million in wagers there for the week ending Sept. 7. There was also chatter about a big-time bettor last year in New Jersey when Fanatics’ predecessor PointsBet rang up $88.5 million in revenue in the first four months of 2024 that put it within striking distance of DraftKings for second in that span.
The NJDGE does not disclose monthly handle totals by operator, but the 16.5% year-over-year statewide handle increase this year flew counter to the 3.7% decline in August 2023 to 2024. It also marked the first time Fanatics finished in the red for a month in New Jersey since launch in May 2024 and came after totaling $26.1 million in winnings from May through July.
The other possibility is that a bettor or bettors hit a huge parlay. That could have happened despite operators combining for a 19% hold on the multi-leg wagers as they claimed $45.7 million in revenue from $240.1 million handle. The hold was 5.6 percentage points higher than last year as parlays winnings surged 70.9% year-over-year compared to the 20.2% increase in parlay wagering.
The catch-all other category, which includes soccer, golf, tennis, hockey, mixed martial arts, tennis, and table tennis in New Jersey, represented the second-biggest chunk of revenue at $11.8 million. Operators, though, had only a 5.3% win rate there from $221.9 million worth of wagers.
Bettors kept the house in check when it came to baseball, limiting operators to a 2.9% hold and $6.2 million in winnings. That was down 37.9% from August 2024 and also less than half July’s total of $13 million.
FanDuel, DraftKings a potent 1-2
The two juggernauts of digital sports betting, FanDuel and DraftKings, lived up to their reputations with August revenue of $31.6 million and $27.9 million, respectively. DraftKings, thoug,h had the bigger year-over-year bounce in winnings at 80.1% compared to 30.6% for FanDuel.
Fanatics’ fall-off allowed BetMGM to claim the final podium spot for revenue at $7.7 million, while bet365 ($5.2 million) and Caesars ($3.8 million) rounded out the top five among mobile books.
On the retail side, the Borgata reported a third consecutive monthly loss as bettors came out $287,827 ahead in August. That put the marina-based sportsbook more than $1 million in the red year-to-date. Bettors have pocketed a collective $2.8 million above wagers in the last three months there.
