For New Jersey, July proved to be a very successful month in terms of sports betting as the industry enjoyed a 91% increase in total handle from June. The handle was $315.1 million dollars for the month of July alone, which was also an increase of 25.4% over that of July 2019.
Atlantic City had a gaming revenue of $248.7 million which is most definitely worth noting. However, it was a decrease over that of July 2019, which brought in a sports betting handle of $323.3 million. Although the numbers are significantly improving, there’s still room for even more growth.
The Direction the Industry Wants to See
Clearly, this was all good news for sportsbooks and the state itself who also benefitted from the 91% month over month increase in the form of tax revenue. After a few very tough months with sports on hiatus and many casinos shuttered, July was exactly what people in the industry wanted to see happen.
It was late in the month, July 23rd specifically, when Borgata opened back up which was timed well considering that’s when sports started to return to live action.
As for the revenue that was generated by the sports betting handle, that amounted to $29.6 million for the month of July. This number was straight from the source – the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement who recently released the figures.
The sports betting revenue for July was also 65.2% higher than that of July 2019. This can be attributed to the fact that in a normal year the month of July tends to be rather quiet in the sports world. Most major leagues, except for MLB, have finished up and are waiting to start the next season.
Then there was the online gaming revenue, which proved to be a huge draw. This segment of the market enjoyed a 122.5% increase in comparison to July 2019.
What About Atlantic City?
So, while the majority of the news coming out of New Jersey has been all good in the sports betting world and showing a strong rebound, Atlantic City is still coming up a little short. The total gaming revenue is down in comparison to July 2019, which isn’t exactly where Atlantic City wants to be.
It’s important to point out that since Borgata is the “highest-performing casino” in Atlantic City, the fact it was only open for the last nine days in July definitely had an impact.
There’s also the fact that New Jersey currently has prohibitions on indoor smoking, dining, and alcoholic beverage service. All of that greatly affects the overall casino experience and has likely kept some people away.
With Atlantic City also being a big tourist destination, it’s clearly hurting thanks to the fact people just aren’t traveling at the moment. It wasn’t even until July 2nd that the nine casinos in Atlantic City were given permission to re-open.
With all that said, there is plenty of optimism moving forward. Industry insiders believe that the tourism and gaming sectors are slowly showing signs of recovery.
What will be more telling are the numbers for August now that the city has opened back up and sports are in full swing. Looking further ahead, Atlantic City and the state of New Jersey could be in for an even bigger boost to the industry once the NFL begins in mid-September.
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
