Record-Setting July Yields $39.3 Million In Revenue For New Jersey Online Casinos

The lucky streak for online gambling operators in New Jersey is unrelenting.

Legal NJ online casinos combined to earn $39.3 million in July revenue, a new all-time record for the market. Online sportsbooks added another $13.9 million to bring the total well past $50 million across all verticals.

Data comes from the latest monthly report published by the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement.

As big as they are, these numbers come as no real shock. The state’s online casinos have shown sharp growth since the launch of NJ sports betting last year, up over 50% annually.

NJ online gambling highlights — July 2019

Here’s what stands out from the July data:

• Total online gambling revenue of $39,315,731 topped the previous record set in March.
• Standalone online casino revenue of $37,428,813 is also the most of any month to date.
• Combined revenue again crested $30 million, as it has done every month this year.
• Revenue was up 51% compared to last July ($25.9 million).

Here’s another unsurprising takeaway: Golden Nugget is the captain of the ship.

It hauled in a record $14.9 million in July, extending its streak of first-place finishes to 32 consecutive months. Revenue from the Nugget’s online casino rivals that of its brick-and-mortar property in the Marina district.

Although Resorts held on to second place with a win of $6.9 million, its cushion has all but vanished. Third-place Borgata also set a new personal best in July with $6.4 million in revenue across its network.

NJ online gambling revenue breakdown

Revenue / ∆ Monthly (normalized) / ∆ Yearly:

• Total: $39.3 million / -0.03% / +51.8%
• Online casinos: $37.4 million / -0.18% / +55.6%
• Online poker sites: $1.9 million / +3.2% / +2.1%

There is no precedent for the industry’s trajectory.

NJ online gambling revenue had leveled off around the $20 million plateau 18 months ago, seemingly approaching its ceiling. The addition of legal sports betting in mid-2018, however, coincides with a remarkable surge.

Monthly casino revenue climbed past $30 million by the first of this year, and it’s already brushing up against $40 million just seven months later.

NJ online poker sites, on the other hand, are not realizing the same benefits of cross-play so far. While July revenue was up a tad month-to-month, poker is still flat at best across most historical comparisons.

NJ online sports betting revenue

• Total NJ sports betting: $17.9 million
• Online sports betting: $13.9 million

NJ sportsbooks wrote more than $250 million in tickets for the month, setting new July record for the US. Numbers from Nevada won’t be out for a couple weeks, but it has never before posted a July report with more than $244.6 million in handle.

Even more noticeably than usual, the internet accounted for the lion’s share of the haul in New Jersey. Online sports betting drove 84.8% of the total wagering and 77.8% of the revenue for the month.

Read more about the NJ sports betting numbers on Legal Sports Report.

NJ online gambling winners and losers

• Borgata (Borgata, playMGM, Pala, partypoker): July was a very good month for the Borgata network. It earned $6,365,511 in revenue, significantly closing the gap between itself and second-place Resorts. That total is a new Borgata record and its second straight month above $6 million.
• Caesars (888, Caesars, Harrah’s, WSOP NJ): Caesars had its second-best month ever, recording a win of $5,081,756 across online casino and poker verticals. The WSOP platform continues to lead the poker category, but the site has not grown in any meaningful way since launching in 2013.
• Golden Nugget (Betfair, Golden Nugget, SugarHouse): These online casino reports would look a lot different if Golden Nugget didn’t exist. It continues to hold a market share of around 40%, and it’s July revenue of $14,895,411 was larger than the return from all online sports betting statewide.
• Hard Rock (Hard Rock, Unibet): The honeymoon phase appears to be over for Unibet. After boosting Hard Rock to a new monthly record in June, the network’s revenue took a combined step back to $1,903,443 in July.
• Ocean Resort (Ocean Resort): July was anniversary month for Ocean, and the first year has not been especially productive. It collected just $382,483 in revenue for the month, bringing its lifetime total to $5.8 million since launching last July.
• Resorts (DraftKings, Mohegan Sun, PokerStars, Resorts): Following the launch of DraftKings Casino, it looked like Resorts would settle comfortably into the role of runner-up. IIt posted almost $8.5 million in revenue back in March. Slipping back to $6,868,812 four months later, however, its silver medal is now fully under attack from Borgata.
• Tropicana (Tropicana, Virgin): Tropicana leaves little room for guesswork from month to month. It’s win of $3,818,315 once again falls within its typical range, good for fourth place with very little sign of movement.

Detailed numbers by operator/product