sports betting revenue in 2023 Tuesday after the Division of Gaming Enforcement reported that operators claimed more than $109.4 million in winnings for December.
It was the second time in four months that operator revenue sured $100 million, with December’s total ranking behind only the $114.8 million claimed in November 2021 and higher than November. Garden State sportsbooks cleared $1 billion in winnings by $6.6 million, as total revenue surged 31.9% over the $763 million claimed in 2022.
More than $1.28 billion was wagered on New Jersey’s betting apps in December, as New bettors came within $28 million of topping $12 billion handle for 2023 and helped fashion an 8.5% hold to close out the year. Handle compared to 2022 was up 9.4%, proving again that there is life without New York bettors needing to cross the Hudson.
New Jersey received more than $13.9 million in taxes for December, lifting the full-year total to $128.9 million. That was up slightly more than $31 million compared to 2022.
Record parlay handle helps boost bottom line 6n1br
After holding operators to a 6.1% hold on parlay bets in November, it appears New Jersey bettors wanted to continue their roll. Parlay handle reached a staggering all-time high of $488.8 million in December, up almost $120 million from November, as total parlay wagers for the calendar year crested over $3 billion and above $10 billion all-time.
The house fared far better in December compared to November, but the 13.3% hold was still more than 4.7 percentage points under the 2023 full-year win rate of 18%. That meant the $64.8 million in operator winnings ranked third all-time, trailing the $70.8 million claimed in November 2021 and $68.2 million kept in September.
Operators claimed a whopping $550.9 million in parlay revenue in 2023, slightly more than $100 million above the $450.8 million accrued in 2022. Single-event wagering was more subdued, though operators reaped an all-time monthly high of $29.7 million in football winnings from almost $399.2 million handle, good for a 7.5% hold.
Year-over-year basketball revenue was up 69% to $92.7 million, as the hold nearly doubled from 2022 to 3.5%. The house gave back some in the catch-all “other” category, which includes hockey, soccer, tennis, golf, mixed martial arts, and motorsports. After collecting a record $44.8 million in November, that figure was whittled to $6.3 million in December, as handle dwindled 65.5% to $113.6 million and the hold plunged more than eight percentage points to 5.6%
Meadowlands books fall short of $50M revenue 3p2y6m
The three mobile tethers to the Meadowlands — SuperBook — were denied a third straight month with a combined $50 million in revenue by roughly $700,000. The NJDGE does not provide handle figures by licensee, but the trio paced all operators in winnings and was a comfortable $14.5 million ahead of Resorts Digital for the top spot.
Resorts, which has DraftKings as its primary online skin, claimed $34.8 million in revenue — more than October and November combined. Still, the $314.5 million in revenue was more than double its 2022 total of $153.3 million.
While impossible to judge just how well betPARX and PlayUp, the Freehold Raceway digital skins totaled $3 million in revenue. That was down 38% from November’s year-best of $4.8 million, as the PENN Entertainment licensees closed 2023 with $28.2 million in winnings.
On the retail side, Harrah’s was the lone sportsbook to end 2023 with a yearly loss, as bettors came out $86,121 to the good. The Borgata paced all brick-and-mortar venues with over $4.5 million in winnings, a swing of more than $8 million to the positive from 2022 after paying out $3.6 million above the wagers they accepted.
