World Cup lifts New Jersey betting revenue 30%

• New Jersey sports betting revenue rose 29.7% year-on-year to $97 million in July.
• Operators posted an 11.9% hold, the highest of 2026, aided by World Cup results.
• Total state gaming revenue hit $678.1 million, up 11.9% year-on-year, per the DGE.

New Jersey’s sportsbooks generated $97 million in gross revenue in July, a 29.7% increase from $74.8 million a year earlier, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

The rebound followed a bruising June and coincided with the World Cup final, one of eight matches the state hosted during the tournament.

World Cup swings the hold

Bettors wagered $816.9 million with New Jersey sportsbooks in July, up 23.6% year-on-year, with online platforms accounting for all but $2.3 million of that handle.

Operators kept an 11.9% hold, the state’s best rate so far in 2026 and a sharp reversal from June, when a run of bettor-friendly results tied to the NBA Finals and the tournament’s early rounds pushed revenue down 37.7%.

Spain’s 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina in the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19 capped a run of favourable late-tournament outcomes that helped operators recover margin.

FanDuel and DraftKings, New Jersey’s two largest sportsbooks, each grew revenue by more than 20% year-on-year for the month, according to Covers.

Despite July’s rebound, year-to-date sports wagering revenue stood at $609.9 million through July, still down 2.7% from the $626.8 million reported over the same period last year, showing how deep June’s shortfall had cut into the market’s 2026 totals.

Casino and iGaming add gains

Sports betting was one of three segments to post growth for the month. Atlantic City’s nine casinos reported $304.2 million in retail casino win, up 7.1% year-on-year and the city’s strongest July performance since 2012.

Internet gaming revenue reached $276.9 million for the month, a segment that has kept expanding this year as operators such as G2 Digital’s Vegas Club Casino add new online products to the state’s market.

Combined, casino, iGaming and sports betting revenue across New Jersey totalled $678.1 million in July, an 11.9% increase from $606.2 million a year earlier. That lifted year-to-date total gaming revenue to $4.20 billion, up 6.9% from $3.92 billion over the same period in 2025.

The state’s gross revenue tax on gaming reached $92.2 million for the month and $592.7 million year-to-date.

New Jersey raised its tax rate on online sports betting and iGaming to 19.75% in July 2025, up from 13% for online sports betting and 15% for internet gaming previously. Retail sportsbook revenue continues to carry an 8.5% rate, and land-based casino win is taxed at 8%.

Margins stay tied to the calendar

June and July together show how quickly a single tournament can swing New Jersey’s sportsbook results in either direction.

A 6.2% hold in June turned into an 11.9% hold in July without any change in regulation, tax rate or operator lineup, purely on the back of which teams won.

The NFL season opens in September, and that will be the real test of July’s gains. New accounts opened for the World Cup either convert into regular football bettors, or New Jersey’s sportsbooks lose that customer base as quickly as they picked it up.

Either outcome, the six-point swing between June and July has already given operators and regulators a live example of how much a single tournament can move a state’s monthly numbers.