Bets Pour Into New Jersey´s Sportsbooks In October

"Two full months of the football season is showing us how the market is beginning to mature," said Dustin Gouker, lead sports betting analyst for PlayNJ.com. "FanDuel Sportsbook is dominating the retail market and DraftKings continues to be the strength of the online market. In addition, we continue to see locals flock to online sportsbooks."

New Jersey's sportsbooks accepted $260.7 million in October wagers and generated $11.7 million in gross revenue, according to Thursday's official reporting. Online sportsbooks accounted for 67 percent total bets in October.

"New Jersey's handle should surpass Nevada by 2019, and a key driver should be online sports betting," Gouker said. "As New Jersey innovates its online sports betting products and more online sportsbooks prepare to enter the market, a significant preference for online betting has become evident."

FanDuel Sportsbook remained the top retail sportsbook with $1.1 million in gross revenue. DraftKings Sportsbook powered Resorts to $5.1 million to lead online books.

"Brand recognition appears to be a crucial element fueling the ascendency of DraftKings and FanDuel," Gouker said. "The market will continue to evolve. We expect more online sportsbooks to hit the market in the next two months, and that could eat into some of the dominant players' marketshare."

New Jersey's online casino and poker industry moved closer to hitting $1 billion in lifetime gross revenue by generating a record $26.7 million in October. The industry has generated $965.3 million in lifetime revenue.

"After its slow start, few envisioned that the legal online gambling industry would reach $1 billion so quickly," said Steve Ruddock, lead online gambling analyst for PlayNJ.com. "What's more exciting is online gambling has yet to hit its ceiling. Online casino revenue continues to climb, and the addition of online sports gambling has only added to that growth."