Nevada Sportsbooks had Their Third Best Month Ever: NJ Left Out in the Cold

Nevada sportsbooks raked in $37.27 million from $339.1 million bet during the month of September, making it the third best month in amount won and wagered for the books according to the Nevada Gaming Control. 

The sportsbooks enjoyed nearly an 11 percent hold on College Football and NFL bets.

"Sports betting is on a roll," said Nevada Gaming Control senior research analyst Michael Lawton.

The news comes at a time when a federal judge last week issued a temporary restraining order against the Monmouth Park racetrack from offering sports betting at its New Jersey facility.  The track was set to begin taking NFL and College Football bets last weekend after Gov. Chris Christie signed a law earlier this month repealing an old state ban on sports wagering.  

The professional sports leagues sought a temporary injunction to prevent Monmouth Park from moving forward with their plans.  U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp will hear all arguments on November 20.

Meanwhile, the stigma associated with sports betting is slowly eroding especially in the wake of newfound popularity with daily fantasy sports contests, which are widely viewed as a “legal” and more innovative form of sports wagering.

"More and more people are tearing down the belief that betting on sports is a bad thing and realizing that the entertainment value is through the roof," iconic bookmaker Jimmy Vaccaro, now with the sports book at the South Point casino, said. "We have 15 windows open from 9 o'clock to 10 o'clock in the morning on Sundays, and the lines are 25 deep. Guys who have been long-time customers are coming up to me and asking about signing up for the phone app, because they're afraid they're going to get shut out. I think that's a big, big reason why you're seeing more ticket transactions. And it's not going to slow down anytime soon."

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com