Wagers placed on Super Bowl LIV more than doubled what patrons bet a year ago, according to the latest figures from state gaming regulators released Feb. 8.
For this past Sunday’s Big Game, patrons wagered $117.4 million across 12 retail sportsbooks and 21 online and mobile apps, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Last year, they bet $54.3 million at the state’s sportsbooks, which marks a 116% increase year over year.
“New Jersey won big at [Super Bowl LV] last night,” Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted on Monday.
The casinos and racetracks paid out over $106 million, meaning that overall the house took in $11.3 million from Super Bowl wagers.
An exact breakdown of online versus in-person wagers was not immediately available. But most establishments are open only at 35% capacity because of pandemic restrictions.
And with New Jersey pummeled by snow over the past week, including a Super Bowl snowstorm, state transportation officials warned people to avoid any unnecessary travel that day.
In December, sportsbooks reported nearly $1 billion in wagers, of which less than $67 million was from patrons physically traveling to the state’s racetracks in casinos.
The state’s gambling establishments had to completely shutter their brick and mortar operations between March and early July, after which they could open at 25% capacity. A now-lifted order that Murphy enacted in the fall banned indoor dining between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Over the winter, casino officials said this marked a devastating hit to their profits, with many establishments staying open into the early morning hours.
All told, the state’s nine casinos took a 17% revenue hit in 2020, according to NJDGE data released in January.
Casinos relied on internet gambling as a lifeboat for much of the year.
“Internet gaming is a lifeline for casino revenue and the higher taxes internet gaming provides to the state, but it should not be considered a replacement for revenue generated by visitation to brick-and-mortar casinos,” Jane Bokunewicz, coordinator of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University, told NJBIZ in December.
That includes food and dining, entertainment, hospitality and business trips, she added.
