The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported $78.8 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for May on Friday as Garden State sportsbooks surpassed $500 million in year-to-date winnings.
Revenue was down 4.2% from May 2023, despite a 7.7% increase in handle to $838.9 million. The house had a solid 9.4% hold for the month, but that was nearly 1.2 percentage points lower than 12 months ago. Eight of the top 20 monthly all-time win rates in the Garden State have occurred in the past 15 months, with May’s slotting 16th.
May’s figures wrapped up New Jersey’s sixth full year of legal sports betting as the first state outside Nevada to accept wagers following the U.S. Supreme Court declaring PASPA unconstitutional. The Garden State still leads all states in handle with $51.71 billion, but its $3.89 billion in all-time operator revenue after May’s report left it $99 million behind New York for the top spot.
Despite the slight downturn in year-over-year revenue, 2024 has been good to New Jersey sportsbooks. Total winnings are up 37% to $513 million compared to the first five months of 2023, slightly outpacing the 31.6% rise in handle to $6.01 billion. The 8.5% win rate is one-third of a percentage point higher than last year and one full percentage point better than the all-time 7.5% hold.