New Jersey's gambling market demonstrated resilience and sustained growth in June, posting a 7.4% increase compared to the same month last year. The market's combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reached an impressive $491.0 million, surpassing June 2022's $457.2 million. This impressive figure, however, still fell short of May's $510.0 million by 3.7%.
Land-Based Casino Performance
The revenue from land-based casinos slightly increased by 1.0% year-on-year, hitting $244.1 million. Slot machines, a significant contributor to this segment, generated $184.0 million, marking a 0.6% rise. Table games also showed a positive trend, with a 2.5% increase, reaching $60.1 million.
Igaming Sector Surges
The igaming sector displayed robust growth, with revenue surging by 25.2% year-on-year to $186.8 million. Despite this impressive growth, igaming still trailed the land-based sector revenue by $57.3 million. "Other authorized games" in the igaming sector primarily fueled this surge, contributing $184.4 million—an increase of 25.6%. However, not all was rosy, as peer-to-peer poker saw a 2.9% decline, falling to $2.5 million.
Within the igaming sphere, specific players stood out. Golden Nugget led the charge, generating $51.5 million in igaming revenue, reflecting a 23.3% increase from the previous year. Resorts Digital followed closely with $48.6 million, marking a significant 36.4% year-on-year rise. Meanwhile, The Borgata posted $42.9 million, representing an 8.8% increase compared to last year's figures.
Mixed Results in Sports Betting
While the sports betting sector had some setbacks, the overall handle indicates healthy engagement from New Jersey residents. The revenue from sports betting declined by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million, a stark contrast to the previous month’s $78.8 million, representing a 23.7% drop.
However, the total amount wagered told a different story. New Jersey residents placed bets worth $748.4 million, exhibiting a 26.6% increase from last year's $591.1 million. A significant portion of these bets, amounting to $719.0 million, were placed online, while retail sportsbooks collected $29.5 million in bets.
Leading the sports betting revenue were FanDuel with $29.1 million, DraftKings with $14.4 million, BetMGM with $3.7 million, Bet365 with $3.4 million, and Fanatics Sportsbook contributing $1.8 million.
Tax Contributions
New Jersey’s gambling industry continues to be a substantial contributor to the state’s tax revenue. In June, the industry contributed $47.8 million in taxes. This revenue stream 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 by casinos added a modest $7,782 in taxes, while racetracks paid $71,191 in sports wagering taxes.
Year-to-Date Performance
Observing the broader picture, the total market revenue for the first half of the year reached a remarkable $3.06 billion, marking a 12.2% rise from last year’s $2.73 billion. Land-based casinos contributed $1.36 billion to this total revenue, with slot machines bringing in $998.3 million and table games contributing $357.8 million.
The igaming sector also showed a strong performance over the first six months, with revenue reaching $1.1 billion, a 21.4% increase from the previous year. "Other authorized games" remained the primary driver, contributing $1.12 billion, up 21.8%. Conversely, peer-to-peer poker faced challenges, contributing $14.1 million, down 4.2%.
Sports betting revenue for the first half of the year was a robust $573.1 million, a significant 30.0% increase year-on-year. The year-to-date handle for sports betting surpassed $6.76 billion, with online sports betting comprising $6.53 billion of this total and retail locations contributing $231.0 million.
Despite some challenges, particularly in the sports betting sector, New Jersey’s gambling market exhibits a resilient trajectory with considerable growth in both the igaming and land-based casino sectors. As the market continues to evolve, stakeholders remain optimistic about its sustained performance and contribution to the state's economic health.