While the sports season has slowed in May, NJ still fairs well.
May is not a particularly highly active sports month, therefore states with legal sports betting like New Jersey has taken a hit.
Gross online gambling revenue dipped in the month of May from $53.08 million to $52.09 million for online casino, sports gambling, and poker. Reports from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement showed a decline of 1.8%. However, the month of May remained a significantly profitable month marking the second largest online casino revenue reporting since New Jersey legalized online gambling.
Online gross gaming win revenue reports for May 2019 are as follows:
- $36.54 million for casinos
- $13.75 million for sports betting
- $1.79 million for poker
A breakdown of the report shows FanDuel operating under the Meadowlands leads online betting revenue while online casino sites operating under Golden Nugget Casino have led revenue in their sector. NJ’s online handle for May 2019 was more than Nevada’s when comparing the same month in 2018.
New Jersey’s online betting handle accounted for 82.6% of the state’s overall industry handle and 88% of overall gaming revenue. However, for 4 consecutive months, online NJ gaming operators accounted for more than 80% of the state’s overall handle. Some institutions predict the state’s online betting handle will jump to 85% by the start of football season in August.
In 2019, mobile sports bets made up 80% of all wagers made in NJ. 14 online sportsbooks are licensed to operate in the state. In addition, more online sportsbooks are expected to enter the market soon.
Online and mobile sports wagers are accounting for a large share of the state’s profits but what about sports betting revenue from retail locations? Unfortunately, New Jersey’s land-based sportsbooks are not matching the growth and consistency of output compared to the likes of online state-licensed sportsbooks. NJ’s retail sportsbooks only provided $1,816,825 in revenue which is considered the second-lowest reporting since the state legalized domestic sports wagering.
The online poker industry in New Jersey was also hit hard bringing in only $1.8 million providing a near 7% year by year drop. Despite PokerStars running the New Jersey Spring Championship of Online Poker and receiving a $130,000 revenue increase, it was not able to compete with the likes of Caesars which still leads in the state market due to linking player pools in the state of Nevada and Delaware. PokerStars also faced a hefty fine from NJ regulators for accepting wagers on prohibited bets which hurt their overall bottom line as well.