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New Jersey’s Online Gaming Gets a 123% Boost to Cushion General Decline
By Jeff Osienya Jul 16, 2020 IndustryThe Garden State’s overall gaming revenue continues with its downward trend due to COVID-19 closures for three full months. Revenue from online gaming is however softening the blow after bringing in 84.9 million.On Tuesday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement released the industry numbers for June 2020 and as expected, they aren’t looking good given that casino closures were in their third full month. The nine casinos and two horse racing tracks garnered $97.5 million which is 65.6% less than last year over the same period. This decline is practically identical to the drop that was recorded for May, which was 65.4% lower than the revenue for May 2019.
Unfortunately, for the land-based gaming column, the Garden State recorded zeros in the third month in a row due to closures. However, that is expected to change this month after Atlantic City casinos were allowed to reopen their doors for business earlier this month. Most casinos in the state resumed business in the first week of June other than the Borgata which is preparing to report for duty on the 26th. Overall, the April, May, and June closures of land-based casinos have cost the state more than 65% drops in total revenue.
Strong Numbers for Online Gaming Revenue
While retail gaming in the state continued to suffer, online gaming revenue was pretty impressive in the last month of the casino shutdowns. online casinos in New Jersey won a cool 84.9 million last month, a remarkable 123% increase compared to June 2019’s revenue which was $31.8 million. So far, online gaming revenue in the Garden State has been increasing by over 100% in the third consecutive month since April, compared to the same period last year. Better yet, the first half of 2020 has enjoyed near double revenue year over year, bringing in about $422.7 million, up 95.5% compared to H1 2019.
Brick and mortar gaming facilities in the state remained shut through June to adhere to the statewide pandemic shutdowns that were ordered on 16th March and thus, the industry had to depend on online revenue. Moreover, due to these shutdowns, the range of options for online sports bettors was rather limited as the only sports that had resumed by June were Mixed Martial Arts, Asian baseball, and European soccer.
But then, even with the limited sports betting selections, bettors still managed to put in over $165 million in wagers last month which in turn yielded $12.6 million in revenue for the state’s gaming industry. This was 30.3% higher than the $9.7 million that was earned in June 2019. On top of that, last month’s revenue was also 27.7% higher than the $9.9 million revenue that was reported for May 2020.
Apart from online casinos and sports betting verticals, other non-traditional online gaming categories such as eSports also performed well for New Jersey. eSports betting revenue for June was 65.2% higher year on year with $34.7 million in revenue and a handle of $585 million for H1 2020, which is 12.7% higher than the same period last year.
Gaming Properties Revenue Breakdown
For a brand by brand analysis, the report by New Jersey’s gaming ombudsman showed that Golden Nugget which is gearing up for public listing, made the most money in June, after winning $29.1 million in revenue, 1% lower than the same period last year. Borgata came in second, bringing in $17.7 million, down nearly 75% compared to June 2019.
Caesars, a gaming company that lacks its proprietary sports betting skin didn’t record any revenue for June, but it’s internet-only affiliate brand, Caesars Interactive-NJ had a 77% revenue boost compared to last year, gaining about $8.8 million in proceeds. Resorts was the other land-based casino property that had zeros, but its online entity, Resorts Digital made a 119% revenue jump to $21 million year on year. FanDuel and PointsBet, which are both sub-licensees of Meadowlands also recorded a revenue increase of $6.1 million, 40% higher than the same period last year.
Apart from Caesars Interactive-NJ, Resorts Digital, Fanduel, and PointsBet, all other online gaming companies in the Garden State recorded losses compared to a year earlier. Bally took the biggest hit at a 99.8% decline after getting only $39k in sports bets. Ocean Casino also took a huge beating, recording 92% less, after gaining $1.7 million only. Hard Rock and Tropicana each took hits of 80% in decline after both of them recorded roughly $6 million in revenue.
Overall, for H1 2020, the Garden State raked in a revenue of $1.03 billion from casino games and sports betting across nine casinos and two tracks; the Monmouth Park and Meadowlands Park. While the figure excludes horse racing income, it is 35.4% lower than what was collected for H1 2019.
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