N.J. sports-betting handle tops $16 million for opening weeks

Total handle on New Jersey sports betting in June was $16.4 million, according to the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, with slightly less than half bet at Monmouth Park’s sportsbook.

Handle at Monmouth’s sportsbook, which was open for 17 days in June, was $8,176,212, according to the head of the company that operates the track, Dennis Drazin, for a market share of nearly 50 percent.

Only two other bookmaking locations were open in the state during June – Atlantic City’s Borgata Casino, also open for 17 days, and Ocean Resort, open only three days.

Drazin also said that Monmouth had net revenue from the sportsbook operation of $967,403, for a hold of 11.8 percent. The revenue figure cited by Drazin differed substantially from a Monmouth revenue figure provided by the Division of Gaming Enforcement because the division counts bets on events that have not yet been completed, such as future wagers, as revenue, Drazin said.

According to the division, two-thirds of the bets placed in June were on baseball, with 14 percent placed on soccer matches. The World Cup soccer tournament began June 14.

New Jersey’s regulations allow licensed racetracks and casinos to operate sports books. The Meadowlands was set to open its 5,300-squarefoot sports book Saturday.

Due to its location in East Rutherford – a short trip from Manhattan – the Meadowlands sportsbook is expected be the state’s highest-handling location. It will be run by the Fan Duel Group, the conglomerate that now includes Betfair US, the owner of TVG, after a merger went through earlier this week. The company is the only licensed account wagering operator in New Jersey and also operates the only legal betting exchange for horse racing in the United States, available only to New Jersey residents.