- New Jersey beats Nevada betting handle for the 1st time
- Nevada still has good chances of catching up
- PA gaming and online wagering to threaten NJ revenue
New Jersey has made history by topping the betting revenue of Nevada in May 2019. Yet, the state faces a number of challenges ahead.
New Jersey Beats Nevada in Terms of Sports Betting Results
New Jersey and Nevada have been neck-and-neck for the title of the largest U.S. state to top the sports handle metrics since the activity was introduced in May, 2018. With the latest results now fully available, Nevada will have to give New Jersey the leadership spot in May.
Based on the official gambling authorities in both states, New Jersey raked in $318.9 million in total wagers whereas Nevada was just a shade shy of that result, with $317.4 million. New Jersey was also the state where racetracks generated the bulk of the revenue with $15.5 million in total revenue, compared to just $11.6 million for Nevada.
While New Jersey was a bit of a laggard to expand into the sports betting market – its laws came second to Nevada – the state lead the offensive against the U.S. Supreme Court which made it possible for all 50 states to have a legal betting operation going.
The news was well-met by Raymond Lesniak, a former governor of New Jersey, who said that the state has long been a particularly attractive place to make your sports wagers.
Westgate SuperBook Head Jay Kornegay admitted that Nevada was going to fall behind New Jersey. It was understandable, Mr. Kornegay noted:
States with higher population numbers will continue to surpass Nevada, and New Jersey has a population of 9 million, not counting (people from) surrounding states, versus Nevada’s 2.5 million.
Nevada is not likely to catch up to New Jersey in the long term, with basketball betting already generating quite a bit of interest. Nevada will still breathe down the neck of New Jersey as Las Vegas is advertised as a better get-away destination, but Atlantic City is not much behind these days , though some difficulties persist.
New Jersey’s Leadership Isn’t Unchallenged
Other than the fact that Nevada is etched into what the nation associates with gambling, New Jersey has a lot of issue to address. For starters, Pennsylvania is going ahead with a full-scale launch of its online industry and so is New York – although that has mostly been a series of fits and starts.
With this said, New Jersey could still see a part of its revenue go elsewhere, occasioned by the quickly growing ring of alternatives in neighboring states. Meanwhile, Nevada remains the home of all betting and gaming activities.
Of course, with alternatives emerging, people will understand less why Las Vegas is trumpeted as the mother load of gaming while Atlantic City is both closer to home and just as entertaining. Meanwhile, New Jersey is leading the way of innovation with 80% of all bets placed via mobile phones.