New Jersey's gambling landscape showcased notable growth as the market posted a 7.4% uptick in June, highlighting the dynamism within the state's betting realms. The combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reached a staggering $491.0 million, marking a significant rise from last June's $457.2 million - though it's a touch below May's $510.0 million.
Land-Based Casinos Steady
Land-based casinos demonstrated resilience with revenue inching up by 1.0% to $244.1 million. Slot machines continue to be a cornerstone of this revenue, generating $184.0 million, a slight 0.6% increase. Table games complemented this growth trajectory, surging by 2.5% to achieve $60.1 million. These figures underline the consistent appeal of traditional casino offerings amidst a rapidly evolving betting landscape.
Igaming Surge
New Jersey's igaming sector set a robust pace, with revenue leaping 25.2% year-on-year to $186.8 million, though it still trailed the land-based sector by $57.3 million. The majority of this igaming revenue was driven by "other authorized games," which contributed $184.4 million, up 25.6%. However, peer-to-peer poker didn’t share this upward momentum, seeing a 2.9% dip to $2.5 million.
Leading the charge in igaming were Golden Nugget, Resorts Digital, and The Borgata. Golden Nugget recorded $51.5 million, a substantial 23.3% rise from the previous year. Resorts Digital exhibited even more impressive growth, logging $48.6 million, a 36.4% year-on-year spike. The Borgata also saw positive movement, generating $42.9 million – an 8.8% improvement from last year.
Sports Betting Volatility
In contrast, the sports betting segment faced a challenging month, with revenue declining by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million and falling 23.7% from May’s $78.8 million. Nonetheless, the amount wagered by New Jersey residents provides a more optimistic picture, with $748.4 million placed in bets – a significant 26.6% rise from last year's $591.1 million.
Delving deeper, online sports betting continues to dominate, with a whopping $719.0 million in bets. Retail sportsbooks, while much smaller in comparison, still took in $29.5 million in bets. Within this sector, FanDuel led the pack, generating $29.1 million in revenue, followed by DraftKings’ $14.4 million. Notably, BetMGM and Bet365 contributed $3.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively, while Fanatics Sportsbook added $1.8 million.
Tax Contributions and Market Growth
New Jersey's gambling sector also made a notable contribution to state taxes, with $47.8 million paid in June. This sum 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. Further, retail sports wagering from casinos and racetracks added $7,782 and $71,191, respectively.
Zooming out to view the first half of the year, the total market revenue reached an impressive $3.06 billion, reflecting a 12.2% rise from the previous year’s $2.73 billion benchmark. Land-based casino revenue was a key driver, contributing $1.36 billion, with slot machines and table games bringing in $998.3 million and $357.8 million respectively.
Igaming also held its ground, with the first six months yielding $1.1 billion, up 21.4%. Other authorized games proved a lucrative subset within this category, contributing $1.12 billion – a 21.8% increase. However, peer-to-peer poker dropped by 4.2%, amounting to $14.1 million.
Sports betting followed an aggressive growth trajectory for the first half of the year, with revenue soaring to $573.1 million – a 30.0% year-on-year uptick. The year-to-date handle for sports betting not only surpassed but surged past $6.76 billion, with online sports betting making up $6.53 billion of this figure, and retail locations adding $231.0 million.
Despite the volatility in the sports betting sector, the overall gambling market in New Jersey paints a picture of resilience and adaptability, particularly within the igaming and land-based casino sectors. As the industry evolves, these figures underscore a robust and thriving gambling ecosystem in the Garden State.