New Jersey's gambling market showcased robust growth in June, posting a 7.4% increase compared to the same month last year. Combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reached an impressive $491.0 million, surpassing last June's $457.2 million, although it saw a slight dip of 3.7% from May’s figures.
Land-Based Casinos Hold Steady
Revenue from land-based casinos saw a modest uptick of 1.0%, amounting to $244.1 million. Slot machines remained a reliable contributor, generating $184.0 million, a rise of 0.6% year-on-year. Table games also experienced positive momentum, with a 2.5% increase, totaling $60.1 million.
Igaming Continues to Surge
Igaming revenue stood out with a significant 25.2% surge to $186.8 million for June. Despite trailing behind land-based sector revenue by $57.3 million, igaming has proven to be a key growth driver. A noteworthy performance was seen in the "other authorized games" category within igaming, which contributed $184.4 million, marking a 25.6% increase.
However, not all segments within igaming enjoyed the same success. Peer-to-peer poker revenue declined by 2.9% to $2.5 million, revealing a slight downturn in this niche.
Top Performers in Igaming
Golden Nugget led the igaming market, generating $51.5 million, a 23.3% increase from the previous year. Resorts Digital followed closely with revenues of $48.6 million, marking an impressive 36.4% year-on-year growth. Meanwhile, the Borgata saw an 8.8% increase in its igaming revenue, reaching $42.9 million.
Challenges in Sports Betting
Sports betting faced a tougher landscape, with revenue declining by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million and showing a sharp drop of 23.7% from May's $78.8 million. Despite this, New Jersey residents placed bets worth $748.4 million, up 26.6% from last year's $591.1 million, indicating a higher volume of wagers but potentially lower margins.
Online betting dominated the scene, accounting for $719.0 million of the total bets, while retail sportsbooks took in $29.5 million. Among sports betting platforms, FanDuel led with $29.1 million in revenue, trailed by DraftKings at $14.4 million. BetMGM and Bet365 reported revenues of $3.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively, while Fanatics Sportsbook contributed $1.8 million.
Fiscal Contributions and Market Overview
The gambling industry made substantial contributions to state coffers, with $47.8 million in taxes for June. Land-based casinos contributed $16.2 million, igaming internet gross revenue tax amounted to $28.0 million, and the internet sports wagering tax added $3.6 million. Retail sports wagering from casinos provided a modest $7,782 in taxes, while racetracks paid $71,191 in sports wagering taxes.
Looking at the broader market, total revenue for the first half of the year reached $3.06 billion, reflecting a 12.2% rise from last year's $2.73 billion. Land-based casinos contributed significantly, with $1.36 billion in total revenue. Slot machines accounted for $998.3 million of this, and table games contributed $357.8 million.
Igaming continued its upward trajectory with $1.1 billion in revenue for the first six months, a 21.4% increase from the previous year. Other authorized games generated $1.12 billion, up 21.8%, while peer-to-peer poker saw a decline, contributing $14.1 million, down 4.2%.
Sports betting revenue for the first half of the year reached $573.1 million, a 30.0% year-on-year increase. 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.
Despite the challenges in the sports betting sector, New Jersey's gambling market demonstrates resilience, with continued growth in igaming and land-based casino sectors. This performance highlights the state's dynamic gambling landscape, adapting and thriving amidst varying market conditions.