New Jersey Casinos Reopen While Online Gambling Sets Records

NJ online gambling revenue July 2020

July was a big month for the New Jersey online gambling industry. Its land-based properties reopened, yet its online casinos still managed to set a new revenue record.

Think about that for a moment, even though land-based casinos reopened and generated nearly $150 million in revenue, the state’s online casinos had a better month than when all the land-based casinos were closed.

The Topline Numbers

In July, total gambling revenue was down just 20.9% compared to 65% in June (when land-based properties were still closed), according to the latest New Jersey Division of Gambling Enforcement report.

  • July 2019: $334,386,358
  • July 2020: $264,485,561

And here’s a breakdown of where that revenue was generated:

  • Land-based casino revenue: $147,440,622
  • Online casino revenue: $82,674,391
  • Online poker revenue: $4,818,561
  • Retail and online sports betting revenue: $29,551,987

And those numbers resulted in the state collecting $26.4 million in taxes.

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Retail Reopenings Can’t Stop Online Gambling Growth

Last month’s analysis noted how seamlessly New Jersians switched to online gambling during the shutdowns. July’s numbers offer the first glimpse of what the New Jersey online gambling market will look like when land-based casinos reopen. Based on July, New Jersey online casino sites are in good shape:

  • Retail casino revenue – down $129,745,215 (-46.8%)
  • Online casino revenue – up $45,245,578 (+120.9%)
  • Online poker revenue – up $2,931,643 (+155.4%)
  • Sports betting revenue – Up $11,667,197 (+65.2%)

The numbers raise the question, was the online casino increase during the lockdown displaced retail customers, and the July uptick due to the return of sports and sports betting, and the expected cross-sell from sports to casino?

And the obvious follow-up: Can this growth last, or will things revert to normal?

And finally, does New Jersey have a problem gambling problem on its hands?

As noted in last month’s report:

“Even before COVID-19 shut down the state’s land-based casino industry, New Jersey, a state with a population of around nine million, was producing online casino and poker revenue of more than $50 million a month. That works out to roughly $5.50 per resident.”

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WSOP Spurs Online Poker Growth

Online poker boomed during the early days of the coronavirus shutdown, hitting its peak in April, before starting to fall back to earth in May and June. That trend reversed in July, thanks to the World Series of Poker going online in 2020.

That said, even the online WSOP wasn’t enough to break New Jersey’s previous online poker revenue record of $5.1 million set in April.

Breakdown by Operator

Borgata

Brands and Sub-brands: Borgata, Party, BetMGM, Pala, Scores

Online casino and poker revenue, June 2020:

  • $15,297,228 (+140.3% Y/Y)

Another strong month for Borgata as the BetMGM brand continues to increase its presence on both the online casino and sports betting fronts in the US.

Caesars

Brands and Sub-brands: Caesars, Harrahs, WSOP.com, 888

Online casino and poker revenue, June 2020:

  • $9,672,828 (+90.3% Y/Y)

Caesars is on the ascent, but of note, it posted an impressive $2.8 million of online poker revenue (more than double its June tally). That number is likely to shrink considerably once the online WSOP wraps up and when live poker returns at some point in time.   

Golden Nugget

Brands and Sub-brands: Golden Nugget, Betfair, FanDuel, BetRivers, PlaySugarhouse, BetAmerica

Online casino and poker revenue, June 2020:

  • $31,480,080 (+111.3% Y/Y)

After back-to-back $29 million months, Golden Nugget finally eclipsed the $30 million mark in July. For some perspective, the $31.5 million Golden Nugget generated is more than the entire industry generated as recently as February 2019.  

Hard Rock AC

Brands and Sub-brands: Hard Rock, Bet365, Unibet

Online casino and poker revenue, June 2020:

  • $5,609,920 (+194.7% Y/Y)

Hard Rock continues to impress, and according to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, it’s Hard Rock’s online casino that is producing the bulk of its online casino revenue, with Bet365 and Unibet accounting for an estimated 10% of total GGR.  

Ocean Casino

Brands and Sub-brands: Ocean, BetParx.com

Online casino and poker revenue, June 2020:

  • $1,213,542 (+217.3% Y/Y)

Is Ocean finally making waves in the New Jersey online gambling market? Yes, Ocean is still the cellar-dweller in the market, but revenue is growing faster at Ocean than any other online casino license holder.

Resorts

Brands and Sub-brands: Resorts, DraftKings, Mohegan Sun, PokerStars

Online casino and poker revenue, June 2020:

  • $18,031,664 (+162.5% Y/Y)

Resorts put some distance between itself and Borgata in July, and that trend is likely to continue as sports return and DraftKings continues to cross-sell from sports bettors to online casino.

Tropicana

Brands and Sub-brands: Tropicana, Virgin

Online casino and poker revenue, June 2020:

  • $6,187,690 (+62.1% Y/Y)

It’s more of the same at Tropicana. The casino continues to lag its online competitors when it comes to growth, but there are some reasons for optimism on the horizon. The mega-merger of Caesars and Eldorado is entering the final phase, which will likely lead to a renewed interest in online gambling.

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