New Jersey Gambling Revenue Totals $462.7 Million For April
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The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement on Tuesday reported overall gambling revenue of more than $462.7 million for the month of April, a 9.5% increase compared to last year but also a decline from March.
Two of the three gaming disciplines — sports wagering and internet casino gaming — posted double-digit percentage gains compared to 2022. Operator revenue in sports betting surged 43.6% to $72.3 million, while iGaming rose 16.3% to $158.9 million. Casino revenue in Atlantic City slipped 1.6% to $231.5 million as the dip in slot revenue outpaced a minimal gain in table games.
The April figure is 5.1% lower than the $487.4 million in operator revenue from March. Though Garden State sportsbooks had a solid month with an 8.7% hold, revenue was still down 22.3% from the previous month’s $93 million-plus.
Internet gambling revenue was down 4.1% from March’s record $165.7 million but still comfortably No. 2 all-time. It was the fourth time in the last five months iGaming revenue has surpassed $150 million, and the $620.1 million in operator winnings through the first four months of 2023 is 13.7% better than last year’s comparable total.
All three gaming disciplines in New Jersey are showing year-over-year increases through the first four months of 2023, with the $292.3 million from sports wagering 40.6% higher than the comparable period last year and the largest improvement in terms of percentage.
The state received nearly $47.6 million in taxes from gaming in April, lifting the total for the calendar year to more than $187.1 million.
House jumps out quick in baseball and pounds parlays
The two main sources of year-over-year revenue growth for New Jersey sportsbooks came from parlays and baseball, though the latter may include a notable amount of futures handle counted as revenue. Parlay revenue spiked 28.7% to almost $45.4 million, thanks to an eye-watering 22.6% hold on $200.5 million in accepted wagers.
Baseball revenue swung nearly $13.9 million to the positive from March, and the $12.9 million in claimed operator winnings was more than double the $5.2 million claimed in April 2022. The house also more than doubled to $14.2 million its revenue from the catch-all “other” category, which includes golf, hockey, tennis, and soccer.
The 7.7% win rate through the first four months of the year is nearly three full percentage points higher compared to last year, which is helping offset the 13.5% drop in handle versus 2022 to $3.8 billion. New Jersey reclaimed the No. 2 spot from Illinois in year-to-date handle, but that spot will likely go back and forth throughout 2023.
Borgata fends off Resorts, Golden Nugget in iGaming
Only two of the state’s eight iGaming platforms posted month-over-month growth — Caesars and Ocean Casino — and the former made an incremental gain for the third consecutive month to more than $8.7 million. Ocean Resort, meanwhile, set its sixth revenue record in the last seven months with more than $4.7 million, a figure nearly double the $2.4 million claimed last September prior to its impressive surge fueled by its internal website, Tipico, and betPARX.
The Borgata paced all internet casino platforms with close to $43.2 million in revenue for April, the 12th time in 13 months it cleared $40 million. Its non-poker suite of casino games surpassed $1.5 billion in all-time revenue after reaping $42.4 million in April.
The race for second was heated, as Resorts Digital edged Golden Nugget by less than $45,000 while both platforms topped $41.6 million. The top trio have combined for close to $491.9 million in revenue through the first four months of 2023, with the Borgata’s $167.6 million narrowly ahead of both Resorts ($162.8 million) and Golden Nugget ($161.5 million).
Bally’s and Caesars get big Atlantic City bumps
It was a split decision among land-based casinos, as five of the nine posted gains compared to March.
Bally’s and Caesars stood out with double-digit bounces. Bally’s surged 30.7% to nearly $13.8 million, as its table games revenue more than doubled to nearly $4.3 million thanks to an 18.1% hold that was more than 10 percentage points higher than the previous month.
Caesars had a bigger pick-up on the slots side, contributing to a 14.6% overall increase to more than $19.6 million. Its slots revenue of $14.2 million was 16.4% higher versus March, fueled by an 18.2% rise in slot drop to $151.8 million.
The top three revenue generators — Borgata, Hard Rock, and Ocean Resort — all posted single-digit percentage declines versus March. The Borgata led the group of nine in revenue with $58.1 million, down 5.5% largely because its table games revenue slumped 21.9% to $13.8 million.
Hard Rock was a solid yet distant second at $38.8 million, a 2.9% decline. A dip in the slot hold by one-half percentage point to 9.2% was the primary cause, resulting in a 4.4% drop to $27.3 million.
Ocean Casino’s $34.2 million was a modest 1.2% decline caused by its slot hold falling below 9% for the first time since January 2019. That led to a 2% dip in slot revenue to $22 million despite having a 4.2% increase in drop to $247.8 million.
