There was a lot of excitement heading into the 2021 NFL season, especially after how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the previous campaign. Fortunately, Week 1 went off without a hitch and that was proven by records broken by the NJ sports betting scene.
According to GeoComply, a geolocation-tracking company based out of Vancouver, Canada, no other state had more sportsbook transactions than New Jersey did this weekend. The company’s data said that 58.2 million wagers were placed ahead of the 2021 NFL season’s opening week, with 12.5 million (around 21%) of those transactions taking place in New Jersey.
Major sportsbooks like FanDuel and Draft Kings use GeoComply to find out where their users are betting from.
Lindsay Slader, a Geocomply managing director, was certainly expecting a lot of betting action for Week 1 of the season, however, even she was caught off guard by the record-breaking numbers.
“Preparing for this NFL season has been a process that began before the end of last season, and we expected high volumes, but what we have seen has surprised us nonetheless,” Slader said in a press release. “The data tells a remarkable story about the growth of the industry in a short period of time.”
Online sports betting only became legalized in New Jersey back in 2018, however, it’s seen its fair share of growth on a year-by-year basis. For comparison, the state’s online sportsbooks saw 9 million translations in the opening week of the 2020 NFL. Considering how that number is about 38% higher this year, it isn’t hard to see how fast sports betting is growing in the Garden State.
Growth Not Only Seen in New Jersey
While New Jersey’s online sportsbooks certainly saw their fair share of sports betting action, betting was up all across the United States.
As mentioned before, between the 18 participating states and the District of Columbia, 58.2 million wagers were placed on American online sportsbooks from Thursday, Sept. 9 up until 7 p.m. EST on Sunday, Sept. 12. That’s about a 126% increase over the 25.8 million that was placed during the same period last year.
New Jersey may have led the pack in wagers placed this weekend, however, Pittsburgh wasn’t too far behind at 11.5 million. Even Arizona saw an increase in activity as more than 271,000 accounts across multiple sportsbooks were created. Sports betting was only legalized in Arizona last Thursday, so the fact that the state finished fourth in wagers placed (6.1 million) shows how even Western states are getting in on the action.
Slader mentioned in GeoComply’s press release that the company hasn’t “seen anything quite like it” when referring to Arizona’s growth. It’s easy to see why the state would see such a high number, especially on the first weekend where residents can legally place wagers. It’ll be interesting to follow whether or not that trend continues next week and beyond.
Pandemic Leads to Rising of Online Wagers
The COVID-19 pandemic forced casinos around the country to close last year. In New Jersey, casinos were closed from March 16 to July 2, 2020, and even when they re-opened, it was held to a limited capacity.
With in-person wagering out of the question, bettors and sports fans were forced to make their bets online and things have stayed that way ever since.
In the end, things paid off because online gambling and sports betting’s popularity has never been higher — especially in New Jersey. The state’s nine casinos saw a record $118.6 million being won online in July, which is a record for anywhere in the United States, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Back in July, over $529 million in online wagers were placed on sports in New Jersey, which accounted for 91.5% of the state’s total handle.
While overall numbers may have dipped in the summer months due to a lack of sports, things should be back on the rise now that the NFL is back. After all, New Jersey bettors wagered on football (both collegiate and professional) last year more than any other sport, tallying up to $1.4 billion by the end of the year.
If the early Week 1 totals are anything to go by, New Jersey online sportsbooks are in for a lot of action throughout the 2021 NFL season.