Maybe New Jersey gambling sites have become better than ever. Maybe NJ sports betting has helped drive more patrons to online casinos. Maybe both.
Regardless, only one month in the five-year history of NJ online gambling in the Garden State performed better than September.
On Friday, the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement posted online revenue numbers from last month, and the result (apart from poker) is staggering.
Atlantic City casinos combined for a whopping $25,752,461 in online revenue in September, falling just shy of the record $25.9 million set in July.
That total comes mostly from, and courtesy of, a new record in NJ online casino revenue.
Record-setting month for NJ online casinos
As online poker continued to drop (more on that in a bit), online casinos in New Jersey made a sharp and heavy increase in September.
Up more than $5.5 million year-over-year, the state’s online casinos combined for a jaw-dropping $24,142,472 last month. That total just edged NJ’s previous top mark, the $24,048,964 set in July.
Thanks largely to this area, total online gambling revenue jumped more than $5 million year-over-year, representing a 26.3 percent spike.
And then there’s NJ online poker
Despite remaining as much on par as possible from July to August, online poker in September dropped $200,000 month-to-month. The $ 1,609,989 generated reflects a 15.4 percent drop-off from last year’s $1.9 million.
Not only is September’s total the 13th straight month of online poker failing to reach $2 million, but it is also the market’s leanest month since the industry’s first in November 2013.
Caesars did drop month-to-month, but its $671,315 in September represents a noticeable jump from 2017’s $561,705. Resorts also fell, from August and year-over-year, to $538,696.
And Borgata, which reported more than $630,000 in September 2017, generated a mere $399,978 last month.
As for the individual casinos…
Once again, the title of top dog went to Golden Nugget.
With a 62.6 percent year-over-year increase, Golden Nugget reported a head-spinning $9,284,127. By a slim margin, the state’s most robust online casino just fell shy of its record-setting July (with $9.3 million) while displaying a $1.1 million jump from August.
Borgata, long the industry’s second-best platform in terms of revenue, again took second with $4,563,548. The gap has narrowed in the race for runner-up, however, as Caesars made a 21.5 percent year-over-year leap to $4,159,530 in September.
The remaining license holders go as follows (with YoY percentage):
- Resorts: $3,429,781 (-4.5%)
- Tropicana: $3,342,768 (-2.5%)
- Hard Rock online casino: $648,801 (n/a)
- Ocean Resort: $323,906 (n/a)
Noteworthy: NJ sports betting online
New Jersey’s first mobile sportsbooks took the stage in August. In September, the field expanded to eight products. And last month’s revenue numbers are difficult to ignore.
After all, mobile sports betting in the Garden State totaled $104,885,404 in handle. For perspective, land-based sportsbooks accepted just over $79 million in wagers.
Mobile revenue also eclipsed retail sites with $12,567,785. Factor that into NJ online gambling, and the total revenue jumps to $38,320,246.
In a statement, David Rebuck, director of the DGE, made sure to mention the presence of NJ sports betting and its influence on revenue:
“Driven by the explosive growth in sports wagering and continuing improvements in Internet gaming and brick-and-mortar casino win results,” Rebuck said, “the gaming industry produced another month of superb revenue increases. The revenue results point to a strong finish for New Jersey’s gaming industry in 2018.”