New Jersey’s gambling market continues to demonstrate its robust expansion, as evidenced by a 7.4% growth in June. The latest figures reveal combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reaching an impressive $491.0 million. This mark not only surpasses last June's tally of $457.2 million but also underscores a recurring theme of growth notwithstanding a 3.7% dip from May’s $510.0 million.
Land-Based Casinos Steady with Incremental Growth
The cornerstone of New Jersey’s gambling revenue, land-based casinos, saw a modest yet noteworthy 1.0% increase in June, reaching $244.1 million. Slot machines continued to dominate the casino floors, generating $184.0 million — a 0.6% uptick. Not far behind, table games posted a 2.5% rise, pulling in $60.1 million.
Igaming: The Driving Force
In a remarkable leap, igaming revenue surged by 25.2% year-on-year, amassing $186.8 million. Even so, this sector trailed the land-based casinos by $57.3 million. "Other authorized games" within the igaming arena contributed a significant $184.4 million, marking a 25.6% growth. However, peer-to-peer poker faced a slight setback, declining by 2.9% to $2.5 million.
Individual Winners in Igaming
Among the top performers in igaming, Golden Nugget led the charge, generating $51.5 million — up 23.3% from the preceding year. Resorts Digital wasn’t far behind, posting $48.6 million in revenue, reflecting an impressive 36.4% year-on-year increase. The Borgata also demonstrated strong growth, with a $42.9 million revenue, an increase of 8.8% from last year.
Sports Betting: A Mixed Bag
Sports betting, while robust in some aspects, faced a slight decline. Revenue dropped by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million and was down 23.7% compared to May’s $78.8 million. Nevertheless, New Jersey residents placed bets worth a whopping $748.4 million, marking a 26.6% increase from last year's $591.1 million. Online bets dominated the landscape, accounting for $719.0 million, while retail sportsbooks contributed $29.5 million.
Top Contenders in Sports Betting
FanDuel led the sports betting revenue, generating $29.1 million, with DraftKings following at $14.4 million. Other notable contributors included BetMGM, reporting $3.7 million, Bet365 with $3.4 million, and Fanatics Sportsbook at $1.8 million.
Tax Contributions and Economic Impact
In June alone, New Jersey’s gambling industry contributed $47.8 million in taxes. This included $16.2 million from land-based casino gross revenue tax and $28.0 million from igaming internet gross revenue tax. Sports betting also played a part, with internet sports wagering tax contributing $3.6 million. Retail sports wagering from casinos added $7,782 in taxes, while racetracks paid $71,191.
Year-to-Date Performance
Taking a broader view, the total market revenue for the first six months of the year reached an impressive $3.06 billion, reflecting a 12.2% rise from last year’s $2.73 billion. Land-based casinos contributed notably with $1.36 billion, breaking down into $998.3 million from slot machines and $357.8 million from table games. Igaming revenue also saw a significant increase, hitting $1.1 billion, up 21.4% from the previous year. "Other authorized games" were pivotal to this, contributing $1.12 billion, a growth of 21.8%. Peer-to-peer poker, however, recorded a 4.2% decline, contributing $14.1 million.
Sports betting maintained its upward trajectory, with revenue for the first half of the year reaching $573.1 million, up 30.0% year-on-year. The year-to-date handle for sports betting surpassed $6.76 billion, with a substantial $6.53 billion coming from online sports betting, and retail locations contributing $231.0 million.
Despite the nuanced challenges in the sports betting sector, New Jersey's gambling market shows resilience and dynamic growth, particularly in the igaming and land-based casino segments. This continued expansion underscores the state's stature as a pivotal player in the national gambling industry.