New Jersey Online Casinos Net USD 932 Million In 12 Months!

‘New Jersey Online Casinos Net USD 932 Million In 12 Months!’ (image source: unsplash.com)

It might be a year to forget for land-based casinos, but it is one to remember for iGaming as the state of New Jersey’s online casinos net USD 932 Million in 12 Months creating 131 Million in tax dollars!

While land-based casino revenues took a beating, the state that pioneered the way for online casinos in the USA was one of a handful able to quell losses sustained in its retail sports, table game, and video slots sectors that remained closed for most of the year.

And, the New Jersey people and government officials have the lawmakers that pushed for online gambling regulations to thank for those additional tax dollars.

Those that pushed the online gambling bill through back in 2013 are the reason New Jersey gambling is not in a state of emergency. Thay group’s vision and early adoption of iGaming and sports betting licensing for online gambling a few years ago have clearly saved the New Jersey government millions, or rather earned the state ‘millions’, in tax dollars – whichever way you prefer to look at it!

Over in the online sports betting sector, the state took another $46,800,308 in taxes on top of its $130,769,657 from online casinos. In a year of doom and gloom for the economy, online gambling props up New Jersey’s economy and flailing land-based sector with $176 million in tax dollars for the state!

Had New Jersey not legalised online gambling, the Inland Revenue Services would be $144,814,487 worse off in tax revenue, which is the exact amount of tax paid on revenue brought in via online poker, slots, and table gaming via the Garden State’s many iGaming establishments, and it would be down another $74,534,427 in taxes from online sports betting.

With the casino market’s transparency across the state, we can look closely at how these figures became possible. Below, we reveal the month-by-month growth of New Jersey’s online poker and casino revenue, while we also look at how land-based casinos and sports betting did over the year.

Online Casino Revenue in New Jersey

In January 2020 online casino revenue in the state was $53,254,379 and by December $96,430,012. The growth over a year of pandemic and the economy shrinking is remarkable. This is not just economic retraction in New Jersey, but in the USA and globally. Overall, since the launch of online casinos in 2013, the total revenue brought in from NJ online casino gaming alone is $2,010,316,110 – in short, that is $2 billion with $328,648,188 in taxes paid!

The remarkable rise from the beginning of the year marks a 181% rise in the popularity of online casino gaming. Games played at these casinos include eZugi and Evolution live dealer tables, video slots, and virtual table games from Evolution’s First-Person collection. Both brands, which are under the Evolution wing also saw huge rises in revenue for their live dealer studios!

Operators in the New Jersey iGaming market offering online casino gaming are ‘Borgata/Party/BetMGM’, ‘Caesars/Harrah’s/888’, ‘Golden Nugget/Betfair/BetAmerica/SugarHouse’, ‘Hard Rock/Unibet/Bet365’, ‘Ocean Resort/Parx Casino’, ‘Resorts AC/DraftKings/PokerStars’, and ‘Tropicana/Virgin’.

Out of these casinos, the highest earners were: ‘Borgata/Party/BetMGM’, ‘Golden Nugget/Betfair/BetAmerica/SugarHouse’, and ‘Resorts AC/DraftKings/PokerStars’. Each netted over $20 million in monthly revenues while ‘Golden Nugget/Betfair’ is New Jersey’s highest all-time earner with a staggering  $670,803,154 in revenue since it opened its virtual doors.

Online Poker Revenue in New Jersey

Another popular vertical in New Jersey is online poker. Currently, there are only 3 out of 7 iGaming operators in the state offering multi-player online poker cash and tournament tables. Borgata / Party NJ, Caesars / Harrah’s / 888, and Resorts AC. In total, these 3 operators took in $38,802,330 throughout the year which is a $17,867,364 improvement compared to 2019’s 12-month haul of $20,934,966 from the same 3 operators.

That’s a 185% increase in online poker, which in terms of percentage means online poker revenue outdid the percentage rise in online casino—although the actual dollar figures for online casino gaming far outweighs poker. Revenues swayed over the year with April 2020 the most successful month. This was after several promotions, and the sudden onset of COVID-19 closing land-based casinos, which sent the flurry of New Jersey pro players to ply their trade online. As poker rooms around the city reopened, revenue dropped.

$3 million is the average mark that will kick-start 2021, and we will watch this market closely. Any rise in online poker in January will come to light a month later when the official online poker figures become public in February 2021.

If you would like to see a month-by-month breakdown of the New Jersey online casino and sports betting market as well as land-based retail casino and sports betting revenues, then check out our ‘Economy and Finance’ news section where we regularly report on global the state of global iGaming and casino markets. Some of the most interesting revenue reports covered so far include November US Online Gambling Revenues and the UKGC November Revenue News!