New Jersey's gambling industry continues to demonstrate its resilience, posting a commendable 7.4% growth in June. The combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reached an impressive $491.0 million, surpassing last June's figure of $457.2 million, although falling 3.7% short of May's $510.0 million.
Land-Based Casinos Show Stability
The revenue from land-based casinos marked a slight yet significant increase of 1.0%, bringing in $244.1 million. Slot machines were instrumental in this growth, generating $184.0 million, which reflects a 0.6% rise. Table games also contributed positively, seeing a 2.5% increase to reach $60.1 million.
Igaming on the Rise
Perhaps the most striking development comes from the igaming sector, which saw a formidable 25.2% surge in revenue year-on-year, totaling $186.8 million. Despite trailing the land-based sector by $57.3 million, igaming appears to be steadily closing the gap. Within this sector, "other authorized games" made a substantial contribution of $184.4 million, up 25.6%. However, not all was rosy in the digital realm, as peer-to-peer poker revenue declined by 2.9%, amounting to $2.5 million.
Specific operators in the igaming space also had noteworthy performances. Golden Nugget reported $51.5 million in igaming revenue, reflecting a 23.3% increase from the previous year. Resorts Digital boasted an even more impressive 36.4% year-on-year increase, generating $48.6 million. Meanwhile, Borgata saw a more modest 8.8% uptick, bringing in $42.9 million.
Sports Betting Faces Challenges
The sports betting sector, however, encountered some hurdles, experiencing a 9.5% decline year-on-year, with revenue falling to $60.1 million. This figure also marks a significant 23.7% drop from May’s $78.8 million. Despite the decline in revenue, the betting handle tells a different story. New Jersey residents placed bets worth $748.4 million—a substantial 26.6% increase from last year’s $591.1 million. Online bets accounted for a significant portion of this total, with $719.0 million placed online, compared to $29.5 million in retail bets.
Among the top performers in sports betting revenue, FanDuel led the pack with $29.1 million. DraftKings followed with $14.4 million, while BetMGM and Bet365 reported $3.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively. Fanatics Sportsbook contributed $1.8 million in what was a varied showing for the sector.
Tax Contributions and Market Analysis
The overall contributions of New Jersey’s gambling industry to state taxes were significant. In June alone, the industry contributed $47.8 million. This included $16.2 million from land-based casino gross revenue tax and $28.0 million from the igaming internet gross revenue tax. Additional contributions came from the internet sports wagering tax, which added $3.6 million. Retail sports wagering from casinos contributed $7,782 in taxes, and racetracks paid $71,191 in sports wagering taxes.
Looking at the broader picture, the total market revenue for the first six months of the year reached a remarkable $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 generating $998.3 million and table games adding $357.8 million.
Igaming, a growing force in the market, reported $1.1 billion in revenue for the first half of the year, up 21.4% from the previous year. Within this sector, "other authorized games" generated $1.12 billion, marking a 21.8% increase, although peer-to-peer poker saw a 4.2% decline, contributing $14.1 million.
Sports betting revenue for the first half of the year reached $573.1 million, up 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 accounting for $231.0 million.
These figures highlight the robust nature of New Jersey’s gambling industry. Despite challenges in sports betting, the overall market continues to thrive, underpinned by significant growth in the igaming and land-based casino sectors.