New Jersey gambling revenue grows to $401M in June; year-to-date numbers up 15% to $2.4B

New Jersey’s gambling industry showed a year-over-year increase in June, with casinos, horse tracks and their online partners making $401.5 million from wagers, 2.2% above June 2021’s revenues, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

2022’s overall numbers to date have reached $2.43 billion, a 15.2% increase over the $2.11 billion reported at the same point last year. June’s figures show the continuation of the recovering trend for Atlantic City’s nine casinos since COVID-19 peaked.

Separate from racetracks, the casinos’ total gaming revenue, which includes brick-and-mortar hauls, internet wins and sports wagering revenue, grew more than 9% this June compared to 2021, increasing to more than $377.4 million. Thus far in 2022, the city’s total casino gaming revenue has topped $2.2 billion, a nearly 19% increase over 2021.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa led June with $54.3 million in earnings, followed by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, which made $44.6 million. The online components of the casino collectively posted $133.1 million in June, a more than 24% increase from $107.1 million last year.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City

Countering the growth in those sectors was June’s sports betting gross revenue. Last month, New Jersey Casinos, racetracks and their partners brought in $39.2 million in sports betting revenue, 44.9% less compared to June 2021. Year-to-date, that vertical has fallen more than 16% over last year.

Without sports or online betting, the casinos’ brick and mortar revenue grew nearly 7% over last June, according to the report. According to Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University, these numbers are “an encouraging sign," Press of Atlantic City reported. 

“In keeping with current trends, a significant portion of that growth came from internet and sports betting, which have grown in significance in the past few years,” Bokunewicz said. “Since this time last year, internet gaming has grown so much in significance that even a seasonal plateauing of revenues generated from that activity (-2.1% compared to May 2022), did not diminish its impact on the industry’s overall performance for the month."

Five Atlantic City casinos were in danger of losing some of their workforce due to a strike this month, but new agreements with the casino union, Local 54, averted that. With the peak summer season still ahead, and considering the potential Local 54 strike settled for most casinos, Bokunewicz described the summer as looking “promising."