New Jersey: Sports betting decline fails to halt gambling revenue growth in June

Combined land-based casino, igaming and sports betting revenue for June in New Jersey hit $491.0m (£378.6m/€450.3m). This is clear of $457.2m in the same month last year but 3.7% behind the $510.0m posted in May this year.

Land-based casino again generated the most gambling revenue for New Jersey during June. In total, revenue in this segment edged up by 1.0% to $244.1m. This includes $184.0m in slot machine revenue, a rise of 0.6%, and $60.1m table games, up 2.5%.

Igaming edges closer to New Jersey land-based casinos 

By far the biggest area of growth in New Jersey in June was the igaming market. Here, total revenue was 25.2% higher year-on-year at $186.8m. It was it $57.3m behind the long-established casino land-based sector.

“Other authorised games” drew $184.4m of all igaming revenue, up 25.6%. However, peer-to-peer poker revenue dipped 2.9% to $2.5m.

Golden Nugget remains the igaming market leader with $51.5m in revenue during June, up 23.3% from last year.

Resorts Digital was again not far behind in second with $48.6m, an increase of 36.4%. The Borgata took third on $42.9m, up 8.8% from last year’s total.

Further declines in New Jersey sports betting

Turning to sports betting, the situation is markedly different. Total revenue for the market was 9.5% lower year-on-year at $60.1m. This is also 23.7% behind May’s $78.8m haul.

The decline comes despite New Jersey consumers spending $748.4m betting on sports, up 26.6% from $591.1m last year. Of this, $719.0m was wagered online and $29.5m at retail sportsbooks across the state.

FanDuel (the Meadowlands) took top spot again in this market, posting $29.1m in revenue. Long-time rival DraftKings (Resorts Digital) was second with $14.4m in revenue.

Elsewhere, BetMGM (Borgata) reported $3.7m in revenue. Bet365 (Hard Rock) took in $3.4m from and Fanatics Sportsbook (Bally’s) $1.8m.

The NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement began publishing monthly numbers by each operator in January. Previously, it only showed revenue raised by each master licence, covering multiple operators.

New Jersey tax income reaches $47.8m

In terms of tax, the state collected a total of $47.8m from across the market in June.

This includes $16.2m in gross revenue tax, paid at a rate of 8.0%, on land-based casinos. A further $28.0m came from a 15.0% internet gross revenue tax on igaming.

As for sports betting, a 13.0% internet sports wagering tax generated $3.6m for the state. In addition, $7,782 came from an 8.5% retail sports wagering tax from casinos, with a further $71,191 paid by the state’s racetracks active in this market.

H1 gaming revenue tops $3.06bn 

Looking at how June impacts year-to-date, total market revenue for first six months of the year is $3.06bn. This is 12.2% ahead of $2.73bn at the same point last year.

Land-based casinos accounted for $1.36bn of this total, level with the previous year. Of this, $998.3m came from slot machines and $357.8m table games.

Igaming revenue hit $1.1m, an increase of 21.4% on 2023. Some $1.12bn came from other authorised games, up 21.8%, and $14.1m peer-to-peer poker, down 4.2%

As for sports betting, despite the June decline, this market reported growth in the first six months. Revenue is 30.0% higher at $573.1m, with year-to-date handle topping $6.76bn. Players spent $6.53bn betting on sports online during this period, plus $231.0m at retail locations. Taxwise, the state took a total of $331.3m from all operators during the six-month period.