Monmouth Park had been counting on betting revenues to fund upcoming race pursesGETTY IMAGES
New Jersey's sports betting industry has "taken a breathtaking shot to the ribs from the coronavirus pandemic," according to Keith Sargeant of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. In March, $181.9M was wagered at the state's sportsbooks, a "drop of 63.2%" from February and down 51.2% from March '19. Betting in March provided $13.2M in "gross revenue for the state's 10 sports-betting operators" and $1.7M in tax revenue for the state. Those numbers "pale in comparison" to March '19, when bettors wagered a total of $372.5M and sports-betting operators raked in $31.7M, while the state collected $3.7M in tax revenue. New Jersey had been "on pace to smash" its '19 numbers, as $1.03B was wagered through the first two months of this year after the handle for the first two months of '19 was $705.6M. FanDuel's Meadowlands sportsbook "revealed a 66.5% year-to-year dip" for the month of March, from $17.6M in '19 to $5.9M last month. DraftKings reported $7.4M in gross revenues for March '19; its March '20 total was $5M (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 4/16).
LOSSES AT MONMOUTH: In New Jersey, Stephen Edelson reports Monmouth Park Racetrack had been "counting on revenues from sports betting to help fund race purses at its upcoming meet." Opening day has been "pushed back from May 2 to July 4 due to the coronavirus, with the number of racing days reduced from 56 to 36." Last March, the Monmouth Park Sports Book by William Hill generated gross revenues of $2.6M "between its brick-and-mortar and internet operations." This March, they "lost $196 in-house, and made $849,236 on the internet wagers" (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 4/16).
