The gambling market in New Jersey continued to demonstrate resilience and growth in June, posting a notable 7.4% increase compared to the same period last year. This impressive growth was fueled by the combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting, which collectively reached $491.0 million for the month.
This year's June revenue surpassed last June's $457.2 million, albeit falling short by 3.7% compared to May’s $510.0 million haul. The figures reflect a dynamic and evolving market that navigates seasonal fluctuations and varying consumer interests adeptly.
Land-based Casinos: Solid Performance
The land-based casino sector saw a modest growth, with revenue increasing by 1.0% to $244.1 million. A breakdown of this figure shows that slot machines generated $184.0 million, marking a slight 0.6% rise year-on-year. Table games performed even better, showing a healthy 2.5% increase and earning $60.1 million.
Igaming: The Rising Star
Perhaps the most striking growth came from the igaming sector, which experienced a significant surge. Igaming revenue soared by 25.2% year-on-year to $186.8 million, underscoring its rising popularity among New Jersey players. Despite this impressive figure, igaming revenue still trailed behind the land-based sector by $57.3 million.
Within igaming, “other authorized games” contributed the lion’s share, bringing in $184.4 million, up 25.6% from last year. Conversely, peer-to-peer poker did not fare as well, with revenue declining by 2.9% to $2.5 million.
Individual online platforms also showed impressive gains. Golden Nugget reported a 23.3% increase in igaming earnings, reaching $51.5 million. Resorts Digital marked an even more remarkable 36.4% rise, generating $48.6 million. Meanwhile, the Borgata witnessed an 8.8% increase, totaling $42.9 million in revenue.
Sports Betting: A Mixed Bag
Sports betting revenue faced challenges, seeing a decline of 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million and a sharp 23.7% drop from May's $78.8 million. Despite this, the betting handle indicated robust engagement. New Jersey residents placed bets totaling $748.4 million, a substantial 26.6% increase from the previous year’s $591.1 million. Online bets made up the bulk of this activity, accounting for $719.0 million, while retail sportsbooks collected $29.5 million in wagers.
Among the operators, FanDuel stood out, generating $29.1 million in sports betting revenue. DraftKings followed with $14.4 million. Other noteworthy contributions included BetMGM with $3.7 million, Bet365 with $3.4 million, and Fanatics Sportsbook with $1.8 million.
Tax Contributions and Market Outlook
New Jersey’s gambling industry played a crucial role in state revenues, contributing $47.8 million in taxes for June. 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. Retail sports wagering from casinos and racetracks added smaller amounts, with $7,782 and $71,191, respectively, coming from sports wagering taxes.
Reviewing the broader market for the first half of the year, total revenue reached $3.06 billion, marking a 12.2% rise from last year’s $2.73 billion. Land-based casinos contributed $1.36 billion to this total. Slot machines brought in $998.3 million, and table games added $357.8 million during this period.
Igaming continued its upward trajectory, collecting $1.1 billion in revenue, a 21.4% increase over the previous year. Within this, “other authorized games” accounted for $1.12 billion, up 21.8%, while peer-to-peer poker saw a slight decline to $14.1 million, down 4.2%.
Sports betting over the first six months of the year reached $573.1 million, up by a significant 30.0% year-on-year. The year-to-date handle for sports betting surpassed $6.76 billion, with online sports betting contributing $6.53 billion and retail locations adding $231.0 million.
The data paints a picture of a resilient and dynamic gambling industry in New Jersey, with particular strength in the igaming and land-based casino sectors. Despite some hurdles in sports betting, the overall market shows robust growth and adaptability, continuing to thrive in a competitive landscape.