New Jersey casino sports betting revenue drops nearly 24% to $27.1 in June

New Jersey casinos experienced a significant decline in sports betting revenue in June, with a nearly 24% decrease compared to the previous year, according to data released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement on Tuesday. Including the three horse tracks that offer sports betting, the overall sports betting revenue in the state fell by 9.5%.

Total gambling revenue, encompassing internet gambling and in-person betting, reached $491 million in June, reflecting a 7.4% increase, The Associated Press reported.

New Jersey's successful 2018 challenge to a federal ban on sports betting enabled states across the U.S. to offer legal sports betting. Since then, New Jersey has been a leader in sports wagering revenue nationwide.

However, sports betting generated a relatively low $27.1 million in revenue in June for the casinos after payouts and expenses. Including horse tracks, the total revenue was $60 million.

Resorts Digital, affiliated with DraftKings, saw a 43.3% drop in sports betting revenue to $14.3 million. The physical Resorts casino's revenue declined by 34% to just over $99,000. Ocean Casino experienced a swing from $82,000 in sports betting revenue last June to a loss of $18,725 this June. Monmouth Park Racetrack reported a 37% decline in sports betting revenue to $904,000.

Some casinos saw improvements in sports betting revenue. Bally’s reported an increase of over 440%, reaching almost $1.9 million, while Hard Rock nearly doubled its sports betting revenue to $4.6 million in June.

“At first glance, a decline of nearly 24% in sports betting revenue for Atlantic City’s casino operators is a bit surprising given recent positive performance from that sector,” said Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, as reported by the Associated Press.

She described the decline in revenue as "a function of odds set by the oddsmakers, the bets made by the public, and the outcomes of live events,” noting that there will always be "some variability" by nature in gambling activity.

Meanwhile, Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts Casino and of the Casino Association of New Jersey, attributed the decline in sports betting revenue to “mainly poor luck” in June.

As per the overall gambling revenue data, Borgata earned $110 million, up 5.7%; Golden Nugget won $64.2 million, up nearly 20%; Hard Rock won $63.7 million, up 24.4%; Ocean won $39.6 million, down 0.4%; Tropicana won $38.5 million, up 30.7%; Bally’s won $24.6 million, up over 27%; Caesars won $19.2 million, down over 11%; Harrah’s won $19.1 million, down 8.8%; and Resorts won $15 million, down 2.3%, the report said.

These figures include internet and sports betting revenue, which must be shared with partners such as sportsbooks and technology platforms. Casinos consider money won from in-person gamblers as their core business. Only Ocean and Hard Rock won more from in-person gamblers this June than in June 2019, before the pandemic, a continuing concern for Atlantic City casinos and their parent companies.