Regulated sports betting is enjoying unfettered success in the state to which all sports betting fans in the United States owe a big thank you to – New Jersey. Every month, Garden State sportsbooks seem to be breaking revenue records and August 2021 proved to be no exception with operators reporting $664 million in business. While Jersey’s boffo August fell just short of the monthly record, experts think that a $1 billion sports betting month is definitely in the state’s future.
The official sports betting total for August 2021 came in at $664.7 million. That’s actually down 0.5 percent over August 2020. At the same time, that $664.7 million is a major leap from July, when bettors put down a mere $578.7 million in wagers. The big difference is, of course, American football.
Football is, by far, the most popular betting event for Americans and the Jersey numbers bear that out. In August, a limited slate of college and pre-season professional games drew in $27.4 million. By way of comparison, the full month’s slate of baseball games drew $248 million in wagers, according to a press release from the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement (DGE).
Eric Ramsey, analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, commented on the big August numbers and the potential for a $1 bill month saying, “The state’s online casinos continue to churn out $100m-plus revenue months, month after month, and August’s growth shows just a hint of what is to come for sports betting. Now the state’s sportsbooks and online casinos are both poised to reach heights that not long ago were thought to be impossible.”
Whether or not Jersey sports betting hits the billion dollar mark in September or not, most industry watchers believe the Garden State will cross that line sooner, rather than later.