New Jersey’s gambling market demonstrated remarkable resiliency in June, posting a 7.4% growth compared to the same month last year. The combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reached a notable $491.0 million, outpacing June 2022's $457.2 million. However, this robust figure still falls 3.7% short of May’s earnings, which totaled $510.0 million.
Land-Based Casinos: Consistent Growth
Revenue from land-based casinos registered a modest 1.0% increase, reaching $244.1 million. Slot machines were a significant contributor to this sector, generating $184.0 million, a rise of 0.6%. Additionally, table games recorded a 2.5% growth, totaling $60.1 million in June.
Igaming: A Surge in Popularity
Igaming revenue saw a substantial year-on-year increase of 25.2%, amounting to $186.8 million, although it remains $57.3 million less than that of the land-based sector. Within the igaming vertical, "other authorised games" were particularly profitable, contributing $184.4 million, up 25.6%. On the other hand, peer-to-peer poker revenue experienced a decline, dropping by 2.9% to $2.5 million.
Leading the charge in igaming, Golden Nugget generated $51.5 million, a 23.3% increase from the previous year. Following closely, Resorts Digital posted a 36.4% year-on-year rise in revenue, reaching $48.6 million. The Borgata also showed growth, with an 8.8% increase to $42.9 million in igaming revenue.
Sports Betting: A Mixed Bag
The sports betting sector faced some challenges, with revenue declining by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million. This decrease was also prominent when compared to May's figures, falling 23.7% from $78.8 million. Despite this, New Jersey residents demonstrated their passion for sports betting, placing $748.4 million in bets, a remarkable 26.6% increase from last year’s $591.1 million.
Online bets were the preferred method, accounting for $719.0 million, while retail sportsbooks took in $29.5 million. Among operators, FanDuel led the market with $29.1 million in sports betting revenue, followed by DraftKings at $14.4 million. BetMGM and Bet365 reported $3.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively, while Fanatics Sportsbook contributed $1.8 million.
Tax Contributions and Market Resilience
June’s gambling activities greatly benefited New Jersey’s public coffers, contributing $47.8 million in taxes. Breaking it down, land-based casino gross revenue tax accounted for $16.2 million, igaming internet gross revenue tax added $28.0 million, and internet sports wagering tax contributed $3.6 million. Retail sports wagering from casinos and racetracks added marginal amounts, with $7,782 and $71,191 respectively.
Looking at the bigger picture, the total market revenue for the first six months of the year reached a staggering $3.06 billion, representing a 12.2% rise from the previous 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 another $357.8 million.
Igaming maintained its strong upward trajectory, with revenue totaling $1.1 billion for the first half of the year, marking a 21.4% increase from the previous year. Authorized games drove this sector’s growth, contributing $1.12 billion (up 21.8%). In contrast, peer-to-peer poker’s contribution declined by 4.2%, amounting to $14.1 million.
Sports Betting Sector: Year-to-Date Performance
Despite recent month-to-month challenges, sports betting revenue for the first half of the year was impressive at $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 making up the lion’s share at $6.53 billion. Retail locations contributed a smaller portion, amounting to $231.0 million.
New Jersey’s gambling market has shown a considerable level of resilience and adaptability, particularly in the igaming and land-based casino sectors. Despite some setbacks in the sports betting arena, the market continues to exhibit robust growth and substantial contributions to the state's economy.