The 2022 Super Bowl attracted heavy legal betting in New Jersey, with wagering totaling approximately $143.7 million, up by $26.3 million from a betting total of $117.4 million in the 2021 Super Bowl.
Payouts from all the wagering on the Cincinnati Bengals versus Los Angeles Rams contest totaled $135.9 million, resulting in a win of $7.8 million for New Jersey’s sports wagering books, the state’s gaming regulator, the Division of Gaming Enforcement, said. That $7.8 million figure is less than the $11.3 million New Jersey sportsbooks kept from the 2021 Super Bowl.
The preliminary wagering stats come from reports by Atlantic City casinos and New Jersey horse racetracks. The unaudited revenue figures include New Jersey’s 12 retail sports books and 24 sports wagering mobile applications.
Casinos Score Gains in January
The increase in Super Bowl wagering in the Garden State comes on the heels of another strong month of gaming revenue intake in New Jersey.
For January 2022, total casino win for New Jersey’s nine casino hotel properties was $183.6 million, up 14.8% from $160.0 million for January 2021. Likewise, January 2022 internet gaming win reported by New Jersey casinos and their partners increased by 32.8% to $137.8 million, compared to $103.8 million for January 2021.
Sports wagering gross revenue declined by 26.9% for January 2022. Casinos, racetracks and their partners reported a total of $60.2 million for the month, down from $82.4 million from January 2021, New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement said.
Overall, total gaming revenue reported by casinos, racetracks, and their partners rose to $381.7 million for January 2022, reflecting a 10.3% increase from $346.2 million reported in January 2021.
Overall Revenue Collections Up
Like gaming revenue, overall New Jersey tax revenue collections were up again in January.
Revenue collections for the major taxes totaled $4.701 billion, up $621.6 million, or 15.2% above last January, the state’s Department of the Treasury said. Fiscal year-to-date, total collections of $22.812 billion are up $4.062 billion, or 21.7 percent above the same seven months last year.
January Gross Income Tax collections were up 9.3%, for a total of $2.391 billion. Fiscal year-to-date GIT collections of $9.360 billion are up $1.360 billion, or 17.0 percent.
“Overall GIT growth in the first seven months of Fiscal Year 2022 (FY2022) has been spurred primarily by strong employee withholding collections, which are recovering from weaker levels during the pandemic. Additionally, quarterly estimated tax payments are performing well, and refund levels were down substantially in the summer and fall, returning to normal for this time of year after taxpayer filing deadlines were delayed in 2020,” Treasury said in a press release.
Gross Income Tax Collections Expected to Slow
Treasury projected that GIT growth will “slow noticeably” in the second half of the fiscal year due to the substantial increase in Pass-Through Business Alternative Income Tax credit claims that are due, as well as several new or expanded tax relief programs enacted with this year’s budget, including the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.
Additionally, Treasury said collections could be curbed by an increase in the amount of retirement income that New Jerseyans can exclude from taxation and three new college savings income tax deductions.
Strong Sales and Use Tax Collections
The Sales and Use Tax is the state’s largest General Fund revenue source. Treasury said Sales and Use Tax collections for January were $1.348 billion, an increase of $187.2 million, or 16.1 percent. Fiscal year-to-date collections of $6.336 billion are up $719.9 million, or 12.8 percent higher than the same period last year.
“The strong January collections (reflecting December sales activity) largely complete the holiday consumer shopping season, which consistently exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Some moderation in Sales Tax growth is expected in future months,” Treasury said.
Additionally, Treasury said Corporation Business Tax (CBT), the second largest General Fund revenue source, reported collections of $244.3 million for January, a $64.7 million increase, or 36.0 percent. Fiscal year-to-date through January, Corporation Business Tax collections of $2.557 billion are up $585.3 million, or 29.7 percent above the same period last year.
