Atlantic City

New Jersey’s online casinos and poker rooms continued their consistent pace throughout September, as the region’s sportsbook capitalised on an unprecedented bumper sporting fixtures list.

Figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show that total revenue grew 6.5 per cent across the month to $323.2m (2019: $303.5m). This is made up by a 15.1 per cent drop in land-based win to $190.5m (2019: 224.5m), a 19 per cent increase in sports betting to $45.1m (2019: 37.8m) and $87.6m from igaming, up 113 per cent from 2019: $41.1m.

The near record monthly performance of the latter has seen online gambling generate $685.6m this year, up 102.2 per cent from $339m through the first nine months of 2019, and is on pace to reach $950m for the year.

Borgata again sat atop of the land-based table with 39.6m (2019: $57.4m), ahead of Hard Rock’s $28.5m, representing a narrow 3.4 per cent drop from $29.5m, and Ocean Casino’s $26.1m, up 26.8 per cent from $20.6m.

Golden Nugget retained market leading status in the online casino ecosystem with $26m (2019: $15.6m), ahead of Bogata with $20.2m (2019: $6.9m) and Resort Digital’s $20m (2019: $8.9m).

“Nearly $1bn in revenue is a staggering figure to think about, and every dollar has been vital in keeping New Jersey’s gaming industry afloat during a difficult year,” Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayNJ.com, said. 

“The growth in online revenue has begun to flatten after a spring surge, but the importance of online gambling to the overall health of the industry continues to grow.”

The Garden State’s sportsbooks set yet another all-jurisdiction record with wagers at online and retail entities soaring to $748.6m in September, up 68 per cent from $445.6m in 2019 and surpassing the all-jurisdiction record of $668m set by New Jersey just last month.

With the record, the Garden State’s handle year-to-date has exceeded the first nine months of 2019, a remarkable trajectory considering major sports were shut down for months, assert analysts at PlayNJ.

“September was a once-in-a-lifetime moment on the sports calendar when all four major US sports were playing meaningful games all at once, which was obviously a boon for sportsbooks,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst at PlayNJ.com

“The growth seen over the last two months will likely level off once the sports schedule returns to normal. But it’s clear New Jersey’s sports betting industry is setting a new floor.”