The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) has reported a 6.5% year-on-year in increase in gambling revenue for September, aided by ongoing growth in sports betting and igaming.
Total gambling revenue for the month amounted to $323.3m, up from $303.5m in September 2019 and only slightly lower than $323.6m in August this year. September marked the second full month of activity for casinos following their novel coronavirus (Covid-19) shut-down, though they remain limited to 25% capacity.
The return of major sports events had a major impact on New Jersey’s market, as sports betting revenue climbed 19.0% year-on-year to $45.1m, with this total also 14.2% higher than in August.
September saw the start of the National Football League’s 2020 season, as well as the conclusion of the 2019-20 National Hockey League, while both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball seasons were in action during the month.
This helped to boost the sports betting handle handle, with players staking $748.6m last month, 68% more than in September last year, and 12.1% more than in August. Online remained the platform of choice, accounting for $678.7m in sports bets, ahead of retail with $69.8m.
Meadowlands and its sub-licensees FanDuel and PointsBet continued to lead the market with $28.2m in sports betting revenue, up 66.9% year-on-year, some way ahead of Resorts Digital and partner DraftKings, which saw revenue more than half from $10.7m to $4.8m.
The Borgata and BetMGM saw its sports betting revenue increase 173.3% to $4.1m, while Monmouth Park and William Hill’s revenue remained level at $3.5m.
The state’s online gambling market continued on its growth trajectory, with revenue soaring 113.0% year-on-year from $41.1m to $87.6m in September. This total was level with the amount generated in August.
Peer-to-peer online gambling – poker – accounted for $2.6m in revenue, up 55.8% on last year while, other slots and table games generated $85.1m in revenue, an increase of 115.4% on September 2019.
Golden Nugget retained top spot in the igaming market with $26.0m in revenue, up 66.2% year-on-year, while the Borgata (and BetMGM) ranked second as its revenue jumped 191.4% to $20.3m. Close behind was Resorts Digital (with partners PokerStars and DraftKings) which reported $20.0m in revenue, up 124.1% year-on-year.
This offset declines in the state’s brick-and-mortar gambling market, with revenue for casinos falling 15.1% to $190.6m. This was also 4.3% lower than $199.1m in August this year, as casinos continue to face capacity restrictions due to Covid-19.
Revenue from land-based slot machines – still the primary source of gambling income in the state – fell 9.6% to $144.0m, while table games revenue was also down 28.7% to $46.6m.
In terms of year-to-date performance, total gambling revenue in New Jersey at the end of September stood at $1.94bn, some 24.8% lower than $2.58bn at the same point last year.
Online gambling win for the nine-month period was 102.2% higher at $685.6m and sports betting revenue was up 17.0% to $223.1m, but land-based casino win almost halved from $2.05bn to $1.03bn.