The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was truly madness for the state of New Jersey. The annual tournament helped the Garden State pull in $93 million in revenue on $1.025 billion wagered at sportsbooks in March, according to the state Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE).
It was the third-highest monthly handle in the five years that wagering on sports has been legal in the state. It was also the fifth time in six months where the amount bet reached $1 billion or more.
The sportsbooks’ success came at the expense of bettors. The NJDGE reported the money made after winning bets are settled, called the hold, was 9 percent, 2 percent higher than the state’s average.
The state agency also reported that the total bet in March was 8.5 percent less than the previous year, but the revenue was 40 percent higher. The state collected $11.9 million in taxes, which was $4.7 million more than in February and $3.7 million more year-over-year.
Not surprisingly, online betting was the clear leader of retail sports wagering. The NJDGE reported that 95 percent of the total gambled in March were online bets.
As far as what bettors were wagering on, basketball and parlay bets were the main choices. Basketball, both pro and college, saw nearly $534.7 million. Parlay bets had $236 million.
New Meadowlands Racetrack was the leader for March with $39.8 million n both online and retail. That revenue figure is a 20% month-over-month increase. The racetrack has three operators, PointsBet, SuperBook and FanDuel.
Year-to-date, more than $2.955 billion has been legally wagered on sports. NJ sportsbooks have reported almost $220 million in revenue in 2023, nearly 40 percent higher than through the same month in 2022.
Resorts Digital, which includes DraftKings and FoxBET, was next with revenues of more than $30.7 million.
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has two operators. One is a branded internet sportsbook and the other is BetMGM. That facility pulled in $8.1 million, with $7.3 million coming from online sportsbooks.
