With coronavirus cases on the rise nationwide, more and more gamblers are turning to online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker rooms.
There are very few states in the country that offer domestic options for all three, but New Jersey does, and the most recent data is promising, if unsurprising.
Thanks to record numbers of people staying home and wiling away their days and nights indoors, the Garden State just reported its third consecutive month of year-over-year improvements in the online gambling space.
From April through June, online casino gaming has been booming in NJ.
May was the biggest month for the state, seeing casino operators take in a record $81.42 million. In June, operators took in slightly less cash but effectively matched May’s revenue with $81.38 million.
The full breakdown of each gambling market’s revenue follows:
New Jersey Online Casino Revenue
- April: $78.4 million
- May: $81.4 million
- June: $81.4 million
New Jersey Online Sports Betting Revenue
- April: 2.63 million
- May: 9.9 million
- June: 12.64 million
New Jersey Online Poker Revenue
- April: $5.15 million
- May: $4.5 million
- June: $3.54 million
Year-over-year, for casino gambling, April was up 114.3%, May was up 122.8%, and June was up 124.3%. For online poker, April was up over 300%, May was up over 150%, and June was up almost 200%.
These gains, obviously, are primarily the result of COVID-19 lockdowns in the state, as residents have had much more spare time on their hands.
That, of course, translates to more poker hands, more blackjack hands, and more pulls of the virtual cranks.
Unfortunately – and equally predictably – online sports betting in the state has been suffering.
Under normal circumstances, since the overturn of PASPA in 2018, you’d expect sports wagering to continue climbing month to month. And it largely has been, not just in New Jersey, but in general.
Over 20 US states have already legalized sports betting (most of which have online betting options), and the market is the fastest-growing in the gambling industry.
However, as the COVID-19 crisis has caused most sports leagues in America and internationally to shutter completely, betting revenues are down across the board.
In April, sports wagering was down 87.6%, and in May, it was down over 33%.
Notably, June’s year-over-year figures were actually up by 30.3%.
This is credited, in large part, to many international sports leagues reopening, but the number is also boosted by New Jersey sportsbooks setting their lines effectively.
Generally speaking, sports betting revenues are more volatile than casino and poker revenues, as the latter markets’ margins are far more predictable. Regardless of handle, if a sportsbook doesn’t nail its lines, it can lose money. This isn’t the case with casino gaming or online poker.
While the above data is isolated to New Jersey, the state provides good insight into the ratios you can expect with offshore gambling sites.
Operators like Bovada, Café Casino, Ignition Casino, and others all accept residents from most US states, and you can expect the betting action at these venues to mirror what’s been happening at NJ online casinos.
That is, slots and table game revenues are through the roof, while poker participation is also increasing rapidly. Again, only sports wagering is lagging behind, and that’s due to the lack of sports, not the lack of betting interest or bettors’ financial abilities to support it.
If you live outside of New Jersey, Delaware, or Pennsylvania, these offshore casinos and online sports betting sites are your only legal option for gambling over the Internet.
To that end, we recommend joining now while business is booming.
After all, with more players, progressive slot jackpots are increased, there are bigger and richer poker tournaments to choose from, and you might even run into some like-minded folks at the live online casino tables.
As with most things in life, when it comes to gambling, it’s the more the merrier – for both gamblers and operators.
And the numbers bear that out.
Source: NJBIZ