Gamblers Here Place $803M in Sports Bets, a US Record

It's 3rd month in a row that New Jersey smashed it like this, though most of it was from online betting
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 14, 2020 5:30 AM CST
This State Smashes US Sports Betting Record for 3rd Month
This Oct. 1, 2020, photo shows the exterior of the Borgata casino in Atlantic City, NJ.   (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

New Jersey's red-hot sports betting market set the national record for the highest amount wagered on sports for the third month in a row in October, with more than $803 million plunked down by gamblers. Figures released Friday by the state Division of Gambling Enforcement show that Atlantic City's casinos and the three horse tracks that offer sports betting collectively took in $803,096,172, per the AP. That broke the state's previous monthly records of $667.9 million in August and $748.5 million in September. The record before that for the total amount bet, or "handle," was $614 million, set in Nevada in November 2019. Total gambling revenue at the casinos and tracks was up 15% in October to $338 million. But as has been the case recently, most of those gains came from internet gambling and sports betting; revenue from in-person gambling at the nine casinos was down 8%, to $186.1 million in October.

The casinos are limited to 25% of capacity under state-imposed rules designed to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Ocean Casino Resort posted the biggest monthly gain, up 37% to $29.1 million compared to October 2019 figures. "Ocean just completed its 12th straight operational month of year-over-year gaming growth," said CEO Terry Glebocki. "We are grateful to our guests for their loyalty even during these unprecedented times." Internet gambling revenue more than doubled in October, to $93.4 million, as some gamblers continued to feel more comfortable betting online than in a casino during the pandemic. The amount of money kept by the casinos and tracks after paying out winning bets and expenses was $58.5 million, up over 26% from a year ago. But that money is often split among sport book operators and other third-party vendors and isn't pure profit for the casinos.

(More sports betting stories.)

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