New Jersey’s gambling industry continues to show resilience amidst a dynamic market landscape, posting a commendable 7.4% growth in June. According to recent figures, the combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reached an impressive $491.0 million. This marks a significant rise from June last year's $457.2 million, albeit it falls short by 3.7% compared to May’s $510.0 million.
Land-Based Casinos Maintain Stability
The land-based casino sector in New Jersey demonstrated stability with a 1.0% increase in revenue, which amounted to $244.1 million. Within this sector, slot machines generated $184.0 million, reflecting a modest 0.6% rise. Table games outperformed slots slightly, boasting a 2.5% increase to contribute $60.1 million.
Igaming: The Rising Star
Igaming revenue soared remarkably by 25.2% year-on-year, hitting $186.8 million in June. However, it still lagged behind the land-based sector by $57.3 million. A deeper dive into the igaming figures reveals that “other authorized games” were a substantial contributor, generating $184.4 million – up 25.6%. Interestingly, peer-to-peer poker saw a decline of 2.9%, yielding $2.5 million.
The top performers in the igaming sector included:
- Golden Nugget with $51.5 million in revenue, a 23.3% increase from the previous year.
- Resorts Digital, which marked a 36.4% year-on-year increase, generating $48.6 million.
- The Borgata, which saw an 8.8% rise, accumulating $42.9 million.
Challenges in Sports Betting
The sports betting sector faced headwinds, with revenue declining by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million, and a significant drop of 23.7% from May’s $78.8 million. Despite this, New Jersey residents remained engaged, placing $748.4 million in bets – a 26.6% rise from last year’s $591.1 million. The vast majority of this betting volume, $719.0 million, came from online bets, while retail sportsbooks took in $29.5 million.
Leading the sports betting revenue were FanDuel with $29.1 million, followed by DraftKings at $14.4 million. BetMGM and Bet365 reported $3.7 million and $3.4 million respectively, while Fanatics Sportsbook contributed $1.8 million.
Tax Contributions and Overall Market Performance
June saw New Jersey’s gambling industry contributing significantly to state taxes, amounting to $47.8 million. This was comprised of $16.2 million from land-based casino gross revenue tax, $28.0 million from igaming internet gross revenue tax, and $3.6 million from internet sports wagering tax. Retail sports wagering from casinos and racetracks added another $7,782 and $71,191 respectively.
The market's overall performance for the first six months of the year has been robust, with total revenue reaching $3.06 billion, marking a 12.2% rise from the previous year's $2.73 billion. Land-based casinos contributed $1.36 billion to this total, with slot machines generating $998.3 million and table games producing $357.8 million in revenue.
Igaming and Sports Betting Year-to-Date Insights
The igaming sector's revenue for the first half of the year was also noteworthy, hitting $1.1 billion, a 21.4% increase year-on-year. Contribution from other authorized games stood at $1.12 billion, up 21.8%, although peer-to-peer poker fell by 4.2% to $14.1 million.
Sports betting revenue for the year-to-date was strong, totaling $573.1 million – a 30.0% rise year-on-year. The total betting handle surpassed $6.76 billion, with online sports betting contributing $6.53 billion to this figure. Retail locations added $231.0 million to the year's betting handle.
In summary, despite some fluctuations, New Jersey's gambling market demonstrates significant resilience and growth, particularly in the igaming and land-based casino sectors, while facing some challenges in sports betting. The overall outlook for the state’s gambling industry remains optimistic as it continues to adapt and evolve.