New Jersey sets new monthly record in internet gaming, total revenue up 70.4%

Borgata secured the top spot in land-based casino revenue with $106.5 million for the month, followed by Hard Rock with $55.5 million. It also ranked first in the internet gaming market, with $36.5 million in revenue.

2021-08-17

United States

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For the year-to-date period, the industry’s total gaming revenue was $2.56 billion compared to $1.29 billion in 2020, an increase of 98.4%. Even though guests have started to return to land-based casinos, which all reported major increases in revenue in July, internet gaming products still remain an increasingly popular choice, with revenue of $118.7 million.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement released August 16 figures of the total gaming revenue for the month of July, which was $450.6 million compared to $264.5 million in July 2020, signaling a 70.4% increase.

Other highlights include revenue of $118.7 million in Internet gaming, compared to $87.5 million in the prior period; an increase of 35.7%. Sports wagering gross revenue was $55.0 million for the month, while casino win for July was $276.9 million.

For the year-to-date period, the industry’s total gaming revenue was $2.56 billion compared to $1.29 billion, an increase of 98.4%. Internet gaming win increased 47.6% to $752.9 million, sports wagering gross revenue was $423.3 million, and casino win $1.39 billion when compared to the prior period.

Due to COVID-19, Atlantic City Casinos closed on March 16, 2020, and began reopening on July 2, 2020, with operating restrictions, thus making casino win and sports wagering revenue for the month and the year-to-date period analyzed hard to compare to 2020.

The pandemic, however, did not impact Internet casino gaming and online sports wagering, as operations continued, although sports wagering events did suffer from cancellations during the timeframe. As a result, the state posted a monthly online casino record, as this form of gaming increases in popularity.

“This could show that patrons have not lost their appetite for internet gaming products even as they return to the in-person gaming experience, or that more people overall are participating in different gaming options,” said Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, according to CBS Philly.

The new record figure in online gaming surpasses the prior record set in March, with total revenue of $113.7 million. However, the specific segment of online poker saw a drop from $4.8 million in July 2020 to $3.1 million last month.

Borgata ranked first in the internet gaming market: $36.5 million in revenue for July, one step ahead of Golden Nugget Online Gaming ($33.5 million) and Resorts Digital ($23.3 million). In sports betting, FanDuel and PointsBet at Meadowlands retained the top spot with $31.7 million in revenue, while Resorts Digital and DraftKings earned 10.6 million in revenue.

As the effects of COVID-19 started to diminish and casinos have been able to reopen, land-based casino revenue reported a 91.8% year-on-year increase in July. Borgata secured the top spot with $106.5 million revenue for the month, followed by Hard Rock with $55.5 million.

But the new record in online gaming is not the only historical news for the New Jersey gambling industry, as earlier this month it became the first state to legalise fixed-odds horse racing betting, as Governor Phil Murphy signed the “Fixed-Odds Wagering Act” bill into law.

New Jerseyans will now be able to lock in prices on horses at the time they make the bet, and is expected to further boost figures for the horse racing industry.