New Jersey Sports Betting Dip Shows More Bettors Staying in New York

Once the golden standard of sports betting — attracting more bettors than even Las Vegas — New Jersey is letting up the lead.

For the fourth month in a row, New Jersey took less bets than it did year over year, according to data posted Monday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

It's on pace to take $582 million less than it did last year, when it led all states in handle.

One of the first to legalize sports betting after a Supreme Court case it litigated, Jersey betting long benefited from its proximity to one of the largest illegal markets in the U.S.

But since New York launched online sports betting in January, it's taken over as the monthly leader in handle among all states.

Jersey managed to keep its high betting turnout going in its first few months of competition with New York, outpacing its 2021 performance until May.

The $866 million of bets Jersey took in September was a 14% drop from last year, when it set the record for most monthly handle of any U.S. state ever. It was also New Jersey's second-highest month since April.

Less handle didn't equate to less revenue this month, as oddsmakers posted their third-best win rate in New Jersey's four years of legal betting.

But overall, operators are on pace to make $41 million less than last year and tax revenue is lagging by $1.2 million.

Meanwhile New York continues to break records. It generated $73 million in sports betting in September — good for the U.S. record —  off of about $200 million more bets than Jersey. It took about $400 million more in bets than New Jersey.

It's expected to clear $1 billion in revenue next month off $12 billion in handle, already halfway to New Jersey's all-time $30 billion handle record in less than 10 months.

Much has been made about the Empire State's 51% tax rate, more than triple New Jersey's. Last week, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin sited that as a reason his company wouldn't do business there.

With the numbers reflecting more bettors staying in New York versus crossing the river into Jersey, how sportsbooks approach the two markets is something to watch going forward.