In June, New Jersey’s gambling market demonstrated its robustness, registering a notable 7.4% growth. The combined earnings from the state's diverse gambling avenues, including land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting, culminated in a substantial $491.0 million, overshadowing the previous June’s $457.2 million. However, this figure reflects a slight decline of 3.7% compared to May’s high of $510.0 million.
Land-based casinos saw a modest increase in revenue, climbing by 1.0% to reach $244.1 million. Slot machines played a significant role in this growth, generating $184.0 million, which represents a 0.6% rise. Table games also contributed positively, with a 2.5% increase to $60.1 million.
Igaming Sector Surges
The igaming sector stood out with a remarkable year-on-year increase of 25.2%, achieving $186.8 million in revenue. Despite this impressive growth, it lagged behind the land-based casino sector by $57.3 million. Within the igaming industry, "other authorised games" saw a significant rise, contributing $184.4 million, a 25.6% increase.
However, not all news was positive. Peer-to-peer poker experienced a downturn, with revenue falling by 2.9% to $2.5 million. Nevertheless, individual operators like Golden Nugget, Resorts Digital, and Borgata boasted significant year-on-year revenue gains. Golden Nugget topped the charts with $51.5 million, marking a 23.3% increase. Resorts Digital followed closely, reporting $48.6 million, which reflects a 36.4% surge. Borgata recorded $42.9 million, an 8.8% rise from the previous year.
Challenges in Sports Betting
The sports betting sector faced challenges, with revenue declining by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million, which is also a 23.7% decrease from May's figures. Despite this dip, the betting volume painted a different picture. New Jersey residents placed bets totaling $748.4 million, a significant 26.6% increase from the previous year. A substantial portion of this betting activity occurred online, amounting to $719.0 million, while retail sportsbooks attracted $29.5 million in wagers.
FanDuel remained the frontrunner in sports betting revenue, generating $29.1 million. DraftKings followed with $14.4 million, while BetMGM and Bet365 reported $3.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively. The entry of Fanatics Sportsbook was also notable, contributing $1.8 million in revenue.
Tax Contributions and Market Resilience
New Jersey’s gambling industry made a substantial contribution to the state's coffers, paying $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. Additionally, retail sports wagering from casinos and racetracks contributed $7,782 and $71,191 in taxes, respectively.
For the first half of the year, the total market revenue reached an impressive $3.06 billion, reflecting a 12.2% increase from last year’s $2.73 billion. Land-based casinos contributed $1.36 billion to this total, with slot machines and table games bringing in $998.3 million and $357.8 million, respectively.
Igaming continued its upward trend with $1.1 billion in revenue, up 21.4% from the previous year. "Other authorized games" within the igaming segment showed a robust performance, contributing $1.12 billion, a 21.8% increase. In contrast, peer-to-peer poker saw a slight decline, contributing $14.1 million, down 4.2%.
Sports betting for the first half of the year reflected significant growth, with revenue hitting $573.1 million, a 30.0% year-on-year increase. 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.
In conclusion, New Jersey’s gambling market continues to show resilience and adaptability. The growth in the igaming and land-based casino sectors presents a promising outlook, even as the sports betting sector faces fluctuations. These dynamics underscore the ever-evolving nature of the gambling landscape in one of the nation’s most prominent gambling hubs.