New Jersey's sportsbooks revenue still growing, now with a 85% online share

New Jersey’s sports betting market slowed again in July, taking in $251.3 million in bets, the lowest total so far this year, down 8% from $273.2 million in June 2019. Figures released Wednesday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the state’s casinos and racetracks made $17.8 million in sports betting revenue in July. So far this year, they have made $127.5 million.

However, the handle yielded $17.8 million in revenue, up 365% from $3.8 million in July 2018 and up 84% from $9.7 million in June. July's handle was up 517% from $40.7 million in July 2018, and much of that growth is due to online sports betting, which generated $213 million in July, or 85%, up from 83% in June.

In all, online and retail sportsbooks have combined to attract $3.5 billion in bets and $269.3 million in revenue since launch, which has generated $25.6 million in tax revenue for New Jersey.

July’s betting market was primarily baseball, which does not tend to attract as much action as football, due to start in September. And other states continued to expand their sports betting offerings, particularly online in neighboring Pennsylvania.

The Meadowlands Racetrack in east Rutherford, just outside New York City, continued to dominate the state’s sports betting market so far this year with nearly $67 million in revenue — more than half of all sports betting revenue in the state. In July, it made over $9 million in sports betting revenue, more than twice its nearest competitor in New Jersey, Resorts Digital, which made $3.7 million. Monmouth Park in Oceanport, near the Jersey shore, made just under $2 million in revenue in July, and has made $12.5 million so far this year.

The figures show how online and mobile betting have quickly dominated the fledgling industry. Of the $251.3 million worth of sports bets made in New Jersey in July, only $38.3 million was wagered in person at a casino or horse track sportsbook.

New Jersey’s high point for this year came in January, when bets fueled by the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl run-up totaled $385.2 million.

Atlantic City casinos

A year after two new casinos opened in Atlantic City, the seaside resort’s gambling and sports betting revenue is up nearly 8%, and its top casino had its best month ever. Figures released Wednesday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the casinos took in $323 million, an increase of 7.8% from July 2018.

That’s when the city’s two newest casinos, Hard Rock and Ocean, were in their first full month of operation. July’s figures were the first true apples-to-apples comparison in a year of how the Atlantic City casino market had been doing.

July also saw a record-setting performance from the Borgata, which has long been Atlantic City’s top casino. It took in nearly $88 million in casino and sports betting revenue, the most it ever had won in a single month. That’s an increase of nearly 15% from a year earlier. It came during the first full month of operation of a $12 million sports betting and entertainment project the casino opened.

“Playing lucky in table games, complemented by healthy July volumes, led to Borgata enjoying an all-time record in total gaming revenue,” Marcus Glover, the casino’s president and chief operating officer, said in an emailed statement.

The Ocean Casino Resort took in $20.1 million from gamblers in July, up 18% from a year earlier, when it was in its first month of operation. “We are very pleased with the continued profitability and growth of the property,” said Michael Donovan, Ocean’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer. July, he said, marked the best month in the casino’s history for gross and net slot revenue and hotel occupancy, including the two-plus years it operated as Revel.

But the numbers also indicate potential problems for the three Atlantic City casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment, which was recently acquired by Eldorado Resorts, the owner of the Tropicana. The newly combined company owns four Atlantic City casinos, including the three Caesars properties – Caesars, Bally’s and Harrah’s – and there has been speculation the company may seek to divest itself of one or more of its New Jersey properties.

Hard Rock has seized the No. 2 spot in the Atlantic City market. It took in $40.7 million in July, an increase of nearly 25% from its first month a year ago.

The Golden Nugget won $34.5 million in July, up 17.4%; Tropicana won nearly $33 million, which was down 11% from a year ago; and Harrah’s, which has fallen to the No. 4 spot after being second to Borgata for years, won just under $30 million, down 5% from a year ago. Caesars, at just under $25 million, was down 15.2%; Bally’s, at $18.2 million, was down 11.3%; and Resorts, at $18.1 million, was up 1.8%.

Internet gambling brought in more than $39 million, an increase of nearly 52% from last year. Among internet-only entities, Resorts Digital took in $10.5 million in July, up nearly 169% from a year ago, and Caesars Interactive-NJ won just over $5 million, up nearly 35%.

So far this year, the casinos have taken in $1.84 billion, an increase of more than 18% from the same period last year.