August Another Record-Setter For New Jersey Online Gambling Industry

Even ignoring the increasing contribution from sports betting, the remarkable growth spurt for New Jersey online gambling continued in earnest in August.

NJ online casinos and poker sites raked in $41,101,587 in combined revenue, breaking the previous record for the second consecutive month. Although that number has surpassed $30 million for every reporting period in 2019, August was the first to crest the $40 million milestone.

NJ online sportsbooks added another $19,200,391 — their second-best month since inception — to bring the combined win above $60 million across all verticals.

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

NJ online gambling highlights — August 2019

Here’s what stands out from the August numbers:

• Total online casino/poker revenue of $41.1 million topped the previous record set in July.
• Standalone online casino revenue of $39.4 million is more than the combined revenue from any previous month.
• Revenue was up 66% compared to last July ($24.8 million).

Golden Nugget is mostly to blame for that growth, and it fell just short of its own significant milestone in August. Even without the complement of an online poker site, its revenue of $14,986,416 represents 38% of the total market — more than twice that of its nearest challenger.

Resorts was that runner-up once again, posting a win of $7.45 million for the month.

As was the case in July, however, Borgata is hot on Resorts’ heels. It generated $7.13 million in revenue across its network of casino and poker sites.

NJ online gambling revenue breakdown

Revenue / ∆ Monthly / ∆ Yearly:

• Total: $41.1 million / +4.5% / +65.7%
• Online casinos: $39.4 million / +5.3% / +71.4%
• Online poker sites: $1.7 million / -9.5% / -5.9%

We hate to keep picking on poker, but it’s really killing the buzz.

The month-to-month decline is no surprise as the busy summer season cools off, but that annual trend is not exactly reassuring. While sports and casino continue to surge, NJ online poker sites are struggling to sustain 2014 levels of revenue.

It’s equally hard to keep finding superlatives to describe the casino vertical.

Online casinos are printing money in NJ, having recorded monthly revenue records on several occasions in 2019. This most-recent record pushes the segment close to $40 million on its own — a number that would have been unthinkable not so long ago. Under the 15% tax rate, the state has collected close to $43 million in related payments this year.

The unprecedented growth coincides with the legalization and launch of online sports betting last year.

NJ online sports betting revenue

• Total NJ sports betting: $25.2 million
• Online sports betting: $19.2 million

Sports betting is all the rage dating back to May 2018, and rightly so. In the time since the US Supreme Court repealed the federal ban, 12 states have joined Nevada in offering regulated single-game wagering.

There’s little question that New Jersey is establishing a new standard for US sports betting.

Licensed operators booked $293.6 million in wagers for the month, up from less than $100 million in August 2018. Considering it includes a substantial amount of unsettled futures wagers from the start of the NCAA and NFL football seasons, the combined hold of 8.6% is skewed to the high side.

The internet continues to account for an increasing percentage of wagers, up to 85% for August.

All that being said, the adolescent industry still pales in comparison to the established online casinos. For all of its attention-seeking, sports is still not as profitable as traditional online gambling in New Jersey — and it may never be.

Look at the breakdown in 2019:

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

Detailed numbers by operator/product