New Jersey's gambling market continues to showcase its dominance, posting a significant growth rate of 7.4% in June. The combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting soared to an impressive $491.0 million for the month. This notable figure not only surpasses last June's $457.2 million but also indicates a healthy trajectory for the state's gambling industry, despite being 3.7% behind May’s $510.0 million.
Land-Based Casinos
Revenue from traditional land-based casinos reported a modest increase, rising by 1.0% to reach $244.1 million. Slot machines were a significant driver of this growth, generating $184.0 million, which marks a 0.6% rise. Table games also saw a positive uptick, with revenues climbing by 2.5% to hit $60.1 million.
Explosive Growth in Igaming
Perhaps the most striking performance came from the igaming sector. Igaming revenue surged by a staggering 25.2% year-on-year, amounting to $186.8 million for June. Within this category, "other authorised games" contributed significantly, pulling in $184.4 million, up 25.6%. However, not all segments of igaming shared in the success; peer-to-peer poker saw a dip, with revenues declining by 2.9% to $2.5 million.
The individual performance of igaming operators also provided compelling insights. Golden Nugget led the pack with an impressive $51.5 million, marking a 23.3% increase from the previous year. Resorts Digital closely followed, generating $48.6 million, a remarkable 36.4% year-on-year rise. The Borgata rounded out the top performers with $42.9 million, translating to an 8.8% increase from last year’s figures.
Challenges in Sports Betting
While the land-based and igaming sectors experienced growth, the sports betting sector faced some hurdles. Sports betting revenue declined by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million, also falling 23.7% from May's $78.8 million. Despite the drop in revenue, betting activity was robust. New Jersey residents placed bets worth $748.4 million, a 26.6% increase from last year’s $591.1 million. Of this, online bets amounted to $719.0 million, underscoring the growing preference for digital platforms. Retail sportsbooks, on the other hand, took in $29.5 million in bets.
Individual operators in the sports betting market also showcased diverse performances. FanDuel led the way, generating $29.1 million in revenue. DraftKings followed with $14.4 million, while BetMGM and Bet365 reported $3.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively. Fanatics Sportsbook made its mark with a contribution of $1.8 million.
Tax Contributions
New Jersey’s gambling industry made a substantial tax contribution in June, amounting to $47.8 million. This 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. Additionally, retail sports wagering from casinos contributed $7,782 in taxes, while racetracks paid $71,191 in sports wagering taxes.
Half-Year Performance
Looking at the broader picture, the total market revenue for the first six months of the year reached a commendable $3.06 billion, reflecting a 12.2% rise from last 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 $357.8 million. Igaming remained a major player, with revenue hitting $1.1 billion, up 21.4% from the previous year. Within this sector, other authorized games brought in $1.12 billion, a 21.8% increase, while peer-to-peer poker contributed $14.1 million, down 4.2%.
Sports betting also saw a noteworthy performance in the first half of the year, raking in $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 contributing an impressive $6.53 billion, and retail locations adding $231.0 million to the year-to-date handle.
In sum, despite some challenges, the gambling market in New Jersey shows resilience, particularly with substantial growth in the igaming and land-based casino sectors. As the second half of the year unfolds, it will be interesting to see how these trends evolve and what they signal for the future of the gambling industry in the state.