New Jersey Gambling Market Shows Resilience Despite Challenges
New Jersey's gambling market demonstrated notable strength and resilience in June, posting a 7.4% growth. Combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reached an impressive $491.0 million. This figure not only surpasses last June's $457.2 million but also highlights an encouraging scene, despite it being 3.7% behind May’s $510.0 million.
Land-Based Casinos: Steady Growth Amidst Competition
Revenue from land-based casinos increased by a modest yet significant 1.0%, tallying up to $244.1 million. Slot machines continued to command a sizable share of the earnings, generating $184.0 million, a 0.6% rise. Table games saw a healthier growth, with a 2.5% increase bringing in $60.1 million. While these numbers reflect a steady performance, they underline how traditional gaming experiences continue to hold their ground amidst the surge of online gambling.
Igaming: The Rising Star
Igaming revenue surged impressively by 25.2% year-on-year, reaching $186.8 million. Although still trailing land-based sector revenue by $57.3 million, the trend indicates a robust growth trajectory for the online sector. "Other authorized games" within the igaming category contributed a whopping $184.4 million, marking a 25.6% rise.
Among individual operators, Golden Nugget led the pack with $51.5 million in igaming revenue, showing a 23.3% increase from the previous year. Resorts Digital followed with $48.6 million, marking a remarkable 36.4% year-on-year growth. The Borgata was not far behind, generating $42.9 million and an 8.8% increase from last year’s figures. On the downside, peer-to-peer poker revenue saw a decline of 2.9%, registering $2.5 million.
Sports Betting: A Decline Amidst Increasing Bets
Despite the overall positive trend, sports betting faced challenges. Revenue from this segment declined by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million, a significant drop of 23.7% from May's $78.8 million. However, New Jersey residents placed bets worth $748.4 million, which is a 26.6% increase from last year’s $591.1 million. This suggests growing engagement and potential for future recovery.
Online sports bets amounted to $719.0 million, dwarfing the $29.5 million taken in by retail sportsbooks. Among the operators, FanDuel led with $29.1 million in sports betting revenue, followed by DraftKings at $14.4 million. BetMGM reported $3.7 million, with Bet365 and Fanatics Sportsbook contributing $3.4 million and $1.8 million, respectively.
Tax Contributions and Long-Term Performance
New Jersey’s gambling industry contributed a significant $47.8 million in taxes in 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 added a modest $7,782 in taxes, while racetracks paid $71,191 in sports wagering taxes.
For the first six months of the year, the total market revenue reached $3.06 billion, marking a 12.2% rise from last year’s $2.73 billion. Land-based casinos contributed $1.36 billion, with slot machines alone generating $998.3 million and table games adding $357.8 million.
Igaming revenue for the first half of the year was particularly robust, amounting to $1.1 billion, up 21.4% from the previous year's performance. "Other authorized games" significantly boosted this category, contributing $1.12 billion, a 21.8% increase. Peer-to-peer poker, however, experienced a slight decline, contributing $14.1 million, down 4.2%.
Sports betting revenue for the first half of the year stood at $573.1 million, showcasing a solid 30.0% year-on-year growth. 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 summary, the gambling market in New Jersey shows robust resilience and adaptability, with significant growth in both igaming and land-based casino sectors. Despite facing some headwinds in the sports betting sector, the overall performance underscores a dynamic and resilient industry poised for further growth.