New Jersey's Gambling Market: A Mixed Bag of Growth and Decline
June has been a revealing month for New Jersey's gambling market, exhibiting notable growth in some sectors while facing challenges in others. The state posted a 7.4% growth compared to the previous June, with combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reaching a striking $491.0 million. This figure surpassed last June's $457.2 million, although it fell 3.7% short of May's $510.0 million.
Land-Based Casinos: Modest Growth
Revenue from land-based casinos saw a modest uptick, increasing by 1.0% to $244.1 million. Slot machines were a steady performer, generating $184.0 million, which marked a 0.6% rise. Table games followed suit with a 2.5% increase, reaching $60.1 million. These figures suggest a stable yet unspectacular performance in the traditional gambling segment.
Igaming: A Surge in Popularity
The most significant leap was observed in the igaming sector, which surged by 25.2% year-on-year to $186.8 million. However, igaming revenue still trailed the land-based sector by $57.3 million. Within igaming, "other authorized games" contributed $184.4 million, up 25.6%. Conversely, peer-to-peer poker saw a decline of 2.9%, dropping to $2.5 million.
Leading the charge in the igaming landscape, Golden Nugget raked in $51.5 million, a 23.3% increase from the previous year. Resorts Digital also showed substantial growth with $48.6 million, marking a 36.4% year-on-year increase, while Borgata generated $42.9 million, representing an 8.8% improvement.
Sports Betting: A Sector Under Pressure
Sports betting experienced a rough patch, with revenue declining by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million, also marking a sharp 23.7% drop from May's $78.8 million. Despite the revenue dip, New Jersey residents showed an increased appetite for sports betting, with the total amount wagered reaching $748.4 million, a significant 26.6% rise from last year's $591.1 million. Online betting dominated, amounting to $719.0 million, while retail sportsbooks took in $29.5 million in bets.
Among sports betting operators, FanDuel generated $29.1 million in revenue, leading the pack. DraftKings followed with $14.4 million, while BetMGM and Bet365 contributed $3.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively. Fanatics Sportsbook made a modest contribution, generating $1.8 million.
Tax Contributions: Significant Revenue for the State
New Jersey's gambling industry contributed a substantial $47.8 million in taxes in June. This included $16.2 million from the land-based casino gross revenue tax, $28.0 million from the igaming internet gross revenue tax, and $3.6 million from the internet sports wagering tax. Retail sports wagering from casinos added $7,782 in taxes, and racetracks paid $71,191 in sports wagering taxes.
Year-to-Date Performance: A Robust Market
For the first six months of the year, New Jersey’s 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 the total revenue, with slot machines generating $998.3 million and table games bringing in $357.8 million.
Igaming continued its upward trajectory with a revenue of $1.1 billion for the first half of the year, up 21.4% from the previous year. Within this sector, other authorized games contributed $1.12 billion, up 21.8%, whereas peer-to-peer poker saw a decline of 4.2%, contributing $14.1 million.
Sports betting saw significant growth in the first half of the year, with revenue reaching $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 adding $231.0 million.
A Resilient Market Amidst Challenges
New Jersey's gambling market demonstrates a remarkable resilience with substantial growth in the igaming and land-based casino sectors, even as the sports betting sector faces its hurdles. The steady rise in both player participation and significant tax contributions underscores the ongoing robustness of this dynamic market.