In a testament to its robust gambling ecosystem, New Jersey's gambling market reported a commendable 7.4% growth this June compared to the same month last year. The state saw combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting soar to a notable $491.0 million. While this figure surpasses June's preceding year total of $457.2 million, it still reflects a slight 3.7% dip from May's impressive $510.0 million.
Land-Based Casinos Hold Steady
Revenue from land-based casinos made a subtle yet significant jump of 1.0%, reaching $244.1 million. Slot machines accounted for $184.0 million of this figure, which is a 0.6% increase. Meanwhile, table games experienced a 2.5% boost, generating $60.1 million.
Igaming Surges Ahead
Of particular note is the surging igaming sector, which posted a remarkable 25.2% year-on-year increase, culminating in $186.8 million in revenue. Despite this impressive growth, igaming revenue trailed the land-based sector by $57.3 million. "Other authorized games" in the igaming sector contributed substantially, with earnings of $184.4 million, marking a 25.6% increase. In contrast, peer-to-peer poker experienced a decline of 2.9%, garnering only $2.5 million.
Breaking down the igaming revenue further, the Golden Nugget led the charge with $51.5 million, reflecting a 23.3% year-on-year rise. Resorts Digital followed suit with a 36.4% surge, generating $48.6 million. The Borgata rounded out the top three with $42.9 million, signifying an 8.8% increase from the previous year's figures.
Sports Betting Faces Challenges
New Jersey's sports betting sector faced some turbulence, with revenue declining by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million, a significant drop from May's $78.8 million. Nevertheless, New Jersey residents remain fervent sports bettors, placing a substantial $748.4 million in bets this June — a 26.6% increase from last year's $591.1 million. Online betting dominated the field, contributing $719.0 million, while retail sportsbooks took in $29.5 million.
FanDuel emerged as the top player in sports betting revenue, generating $29.1 million. DraftKings followed with $14.4 million, and BetMGM reported $3.7 million. Bet365 and Fanatics Sportsbook contributed $3.4 million and $1.8 million, respectively.
Economic Contributions and Market Growth
The economic contributions of New Jersey's gambling industry remain significant, with the market contributing $47.8 million in taxes in June. This includes $16.2 million from the land-based casino gross revenue tax and $28.0 million from the igaming internet gross revenue tax. Internet sports wagering taxes added $3.6 million, while retail sports wagering from casinos contributed a modest $7,782. Racetracks paid $71,191 in sports wagering taxes.
For the first six months of the year, the total market revenue reached an impressive $3.06 billion, marking a 12.2% increase from last year's $2.73 billion. Land-based casinos contributed a significant $1.36 billion to the total revenue, with slot machines generating $998.3 million and table games contributing $357.8 million.
Igaming also portrayed a strong performance for the first half of the year, with revenue hitting $1.1 billion, a 21.4% rise from the previous year. "Other authorized games" once again delivered a robust contribution of $1.12 billion, up 21.8%. Peer-to-peer poker, however, saw a 4.2% decline, contributing $14.1 million.
Sports betting showcased noteworthy resilience, registering $573.1 million in revenue for the first half of the year, a 30.0% year-on-year increase. The year-to-date handle for sports betting surpassed $6.76 billion, with online sports betting contributing $6.53 billion and retail locations adding $231.0 million.
Overall, New Jersey's gambling market demonstrates resilience and a robust growth trajectory in the face of challenging sectors like sports betting. The continuous gains in igaming and land-based casinos underline a well-diversified and thriving industry, poised to uphold its significant economic contributions in the months to come.