New Jersey online and retail sportsbooks have topped US$53.6m in January, with online casinos taking in more than $55m, local data reported.

Following bumper trading data, the US state is expected now has Nevada in its sights and is set to overtake the competing state for the first time since August 2019, data from PlayNJ.com said.

Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayNJ.com said: “New Jersey could very well top Nevada, not just in January, but for the foreseeable future.”

“And assuming that happens, we could be seeing the beginning of New Jersey’s more permanent place as the top market in the country.”

New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks generated US$540.1m in bets, up 71.3 per cent from US$385.3m in January 2019, spurred on by basketball betting.

In addition, in December 2019, New Jersey sportsbooks generated $557.8m in bets.

With the NFL Playoffs and college football’s national championship, American football generated $129m in bets. But basketball bets generated $177.5m, or 32.9 per cent of the state’s January handle. 

Nevada has outdone New Jersey in monthly handle for four consecutive months, beginning with the kickoff of the NFL season. But New Jersey appears to be tracking ahead of Nevada, which generated $497.5m in January 2019 and has never enjoyed a $500m January in its history.

“While still the most popular sport in New Jersey, football does not quite command the same share of the sports betting market as it does in Nevada.

“Meanwhile, basketball has proven to be a big winner for the state. That puts New Jersey in prime position over the next few months in its race to become the country’s largest legal sports betting jurisdiction,” Gouker said.

January’s handle yielded a record $53.6m in revenue, up 285 per cent from $18.8m won in January 2019 and up from $29.4m in December. January resulted in $6.6m in tax revenue for the state.

During the first month of 2020 New Jersey earned $6bn in bets, $400m in revenue, and $50m in sports betting taxes since the industry launched in June 2018.

Online betting in New Jersey remains the key vehicle for growth, generating $471.1m, or 87.2 per cent of the state’s January handle.