New Jersey Operators Exceeded $1 Billion In iCasino Revenue In First Half Of 2024

What already seemed inevitable became official on Tuesday: New Jersey online casino operators collectively have taken in more than $1 billion in revenue in the first half of 2024, according to monthly data announced by the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement.

That’s a new half-year high for the vertical, which got off to a slow start when it launched in 2013, as it took years to raise sufficient consumer awareness of the numerous legal, regulated options to playing traditional casino games in the comfort of their homes.

The collective $186.8 million in revenue for the month of June marks the sixth straight time that figure has ranged between $182.2 million and $197.2 million — with a rise in revenue of 21.4% compared to the same six-month period in 2023. Still, that data suggests that early in the second decade of New Jersey iGaming, the market may soon be approaching full maturity.

Golden Nugget ($51.5 million), Resorts Digital ($48.6 million), and Borgata ($42.9 million) together once again claimed a vast share of the June revenue. Golden Nugget is partnered with FanDuel, BetRivers, Betway, and Jackpot City as well as having its own branded online casino site. Resorts is allied with DraftKings, newcomer ESPN Bet, Mohegan Sun, and PokerStars to supplement its website. BetMGM, Wheel of Fortune, Party Poker, and Stardust bring most of the revenue to Borgata.

Behind that trio of leaders, Tropicana at $16.3 million is being chased by Hard Rock, which at $10.7 million nearly doubled its winnings compared to June 2023. Bally’s ($9.2 million) and Ocean ($6.2 million) continue to show significant growth as distant runners-up.

The state has collected $169.7 million in taxes from online casino operators so far in 2024.

Sports betting handle up off previous two Junes

More than $1 billion is wagered in New Jersey every month during football season and in March Madness, so at first the June 2024 sports betting handle of $748.4 million seems to pale in comparison.

But for a “dog days of summer” figure, the number looks good compared to $591.1 million in bets in the Garden State in June 2023 and the $633.2 million risked in June 2022.

The hold percentage for the sportsbooks in June was a routine 8.6%, matching the hold number for the previous month.

Still, sportsbook revenue last month was $60.1 million, down nearly 10% from 12 months earlier. That was even though the Meadowlands Racetrack’s partners, led by FanDuel, were up 9.8% compared to June 2023. This marks another month where those partners produce about half of the total revenue by New Jersey sportsbooks.

And for anyone who says “the house always wins” — well, check out Ocean Casino’s sportsbook numbers for June 2024, which produced a net loss of $18,725 in revenue. The biggest dropoff in real dollars was by Resorts Digital and partners such as DraftKings and ESPN Bet, slipping from $25.3 million in June 2023 to $14.4 million in June 2024.

As usual, sportsbooks made their bones on the highly popular parlays, with a 19.2% return last month. The two main June betting sports — basketball (4.1%) and baseball (3.8%) — each scored holds of less than half of the industry’s monthly total.

The land-based ledger

As for old-school brick-and-mortar casinos, the $244.1 million collective revenue figure was virtually unchanged from the previous June. It’s worth noting that online gambling — sports betting and casino — combined for nearly the exact same revenue number as Atlantic City’s casinos scored for in-person visits.

Boardwalk property Hard Rock, the No. 2 casino in the state to mighty Borgata in the Marina District, was the only other double-digit winner for the month at $48.4 million, still well behind the market leader’s $64.3 million.

Overall, sports betting brought the state $73 million in tax revenue in the first half of 2024 — with more than 95% of that coming from mobile wagers. Casino gaming overall has produced $257 million in taxes, with two-thirds of that coming from online casino play thanks to a tax rate that is roughly double what retail casinos pay on their revenue.

The combined online gambling tax revenue this year is $242.7 million. Freshman state Sen. John “Jack” McKeon introduced a bill this year that proposed roughly doubling the online gambling tax rate for those offerings to 30% — which would still leave the state’s cut lower than neighboring New York and Pennsylvania.

But the bill went nowhere in the always-frantic final days of the first-half session as June concluded, meaning that the topic won’t be revisited at least until the fall. There has been no indication from the statehouse of an appetite for McKeon’s proposal.

Total gaming revenue reported by casinos, racetracks (not counting their racing revenues), and their partners in the first half of 2024 was $3.1 billion, up a healthy 12.2% versus January-June 2023.