In an impressive display of resilience, New Jersey's gambling market demonstrated a robust 7.4% growth in June. Combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reached a substantial $491.0 million during the month, surpassing last June's $457.2 million. However, this figure represents a slight 3.7% decline from May’s $510.0 million.
Land-Based Casino Performance
The backbone of New Jersey’s gambling industry, land-based casinos, saw a modest yet noteworthy revenue increase of 1.0%, achieving $244.1 million in June. Slot machines contributed significantly to this sum, generating $184.0 million, a 0.6% rise. Table games also performed well, with a 2.5% increase, reaching $60.1 million.
Igaming: A Surge in Popularity
Igaming has shown remarkable growth, surging by 25.2% year-on-year to $186.8 million. Despite trailing the land-based sector by $57.3 million, igaming's rise is significant. "Other authorized games" within the igaming sector contributed $184.4 million, up an impressive 25.6%. Not all segments shared this success; peer-to-peer poker revenue declined by 2.9%, yielding $2.5 million.
Several key players in the igaming market stood out. Golden Nugget reported $51.5 million in igaming revenue, marking a 23.3% increase from the previous year. Resorts Digital made a substantial leap with $48.6 million in revenue, a 36.4% year-on-year increase. The Borgata also showed positive growth, generating $42.9 million, an 8.8% increase compared to last year's figures.
Challenges in Sports Betting
While igaming and land-based casinos experienced growth, sports betting faced challenges. Revenue from sports betting declined by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million, a sharp 23.7% drop from May's $78.8 million. Despite this, the betting handle saw significant activity. New Jersey residents placed bets worth $748.4 million, reflecting a 26.6% increase from last year's $591.1 million. Online bets dominated, amounting to $719.0 million, while retail sportsbooks took in $29.5 million.
Among the top contributors, FanDuel generated $29.1 million in sports betting revenue, followed by DraftKings with $14.4 million. BetMGM and Bet365 reported $3.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively, with Fanatics Sportsbook adding $1.8 million to the pot.
Tax Contributions
The gambling industry’s contributions to state taxes in June were notable, totaling $47.8 million. This included $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. Additionally, retail sports wagering from casinos contributed $7,782, while racetracks paid $71,191 in sports wagering taxes.
Year-to-Date Revenue and Future Outlook
Over the first six months of the year, the total market revenue reached an impressive $3.06 billion, a 12.2% rise from last year’s $2.73 billion. Land-based casinos were significant contributors, providing $1.36 billion of the total revenue. Slot machines alone brought in $998.3 million, and table games added $357.8 million.
Igaming continued its upward trajectory, generating $1.1 billion in revenue for the first half of the year, up 21.4% from the previous year. "Other authorized games" played a substantial role, contributing $1.12 billion, a 21.8% increase. Even though peer-to-peer poker's contribution declined by 4.2%, amounting to $14.1 million, the overall igaming sector remains strong.
For sports betting, the first half of the year was marked by a substantial $573.1 million in revenue, up 30.0% year-on-year. The year-to-date betting handle surpassed $6.76 billion, with online sports betting responsible for $6.53 billion of this amount. Retail locations contributed $231.0 million.
New Jersey’s gambling market showcases impressive resilience, buoyed by robust growth in the igaming and land-based casino sectors. Despite facing headwinds in the sports betting arena, the industry continues to thrive, contributing significantly to the state’s revenue and maintaining a vigorous presence in the national gambling landscape.