MLB is king of NJ’s first sports betting revenue figures, released today
 In the first (partial) month of NJ sports betting, Major League Baseball accounted for 66 percent of “completed side” bets

JULY 12, 2018 (NJONLINEGAMBLING.COM) New Jersey regulators released their first sports betting revenue numbers today  – from Monmouth Park racetrack and Borgata and Ocean Resorts casinos in Atlantic City – and Major League Baseball was the most popular play, accounting for 66 percent of “completed side” bets in the first (partial) month of New Jersey sports betting.

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement reported that there was a $16.4 million total handle, with just $1 million of that on “futures” bets.

On the “completed events” side, 66 percent of the bets were on baseball and 14 percent on soccer (World Cup). On the futures side, 48 percent was on World Cup (including my $5 at Monmouth Park on England, which lost yesterday in the semifinals). Another 27 percent was on NFL futures, and 12 percent on who will win the World Series.

“The regulators include futures bets – like who will win the 2019 Super Bowl – as part of sports betting gross revenue that is taxed immediately, while the winning payouts will be deducted from gross revenue next February for those bets. So sports wagering gross revenue is not revenue under the ‘accrual basis of accounting,’ and thus not comparable to ‘win’ at Nevada casinos,” said John Brennan, long-time New Jersey sports business writer and Senior Analyst at NJOnlineGambling.com, which tracks the emerging industry.

“I spoke with Delaware Lottery Director Vernon Kirk this week, and he had a similar observation about their first-weeks figures. So what on the surface looked like a 14 percent return comes out closer to 8 percent,” Brennan added.

How much did the track and casinos win?

In New Jersey, the “sports wagering win percentage” – comparable to Nevada’s numbers – was 7.8 percent retained by the three properties, or $1.2 million total.

Monmouth Park and Borgata debuted their sports betting on June 14, three days after Gov. Murphy signed a bill into law and one month after a milestone U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Congress’s Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. Ocean followed on June 28, the same day it opened its brick and mortar casino in Atlantic City. Now any state can, if it chooses, offer Las Vegas-style sports betting.

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By John Brennan for NJOnlineGambling.com

John Brennan has covered NJ and NY sports business and gaming since 2002 and was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist in 2008, while reporting for The Bergan County Record.  He now serves as Senior Analyst with DGS Media which tracks and analyzes the legal gaming industry through its web sites NJOnlineGambling.com, PennBets.com and USBets.com.

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