August New Jersey Online Casino Revenue Dips To $131 Million

Written By Chris Imperiale on September 17, 2022
Image via Shutterstock

New Jersey online casinos took a step back in the month of August. They managed around just $131 million in revenue, about $5.3 million short of July’s production.

The NJ online gambling market didn’t reach expectations this month. This is actually the lowest point for earnings since Feb. 2022, when revenue hit just shy of $130 million.

After it appeared that the momentum shifted in a positive direction in the month prior, the pace slowed down based on the Division of Gaming Enforcement’s August’s report. However, the summer months are traditionally the strongest at Atlantic City casinos.

NJ online casino 2022 revenue exceeds $1 billion

Even though profits are down in comparison to recent months, they’re still in good shape overall. Online casino revenue for the month is up more than 16% in the Garden State when looking at last year.

This figure grows even larger for year-to-date analysis. Online earnings show a 25% growth from this point in 2021. This year’s total now exceeds $ 1.08 billion compared to $866.1 million this time last year.

NJ sports betting revenue sees $20 million jump

As far as NJ sports betting goes, it was a solid performance last month. Sportsbooks made over $65 million in revenue, which is a jump up of nearly $20 million from July.

Their overall handle also saw a substantial leap with $546.8 million in bets. This is an increase of more than $15 million from July.

Here is a closer look at how the nine Atlantic City casinos and three New Jersey racetracks fared.

Licensee Online Brand(s) Handle Revenue Hold Taxes
Meadowlands FanDuel | PointsBet | SuperBook $274,546,200 $33,181,764 12.1% $4,611,330
Resorts Atlantic City DraftKings | Fox Bet $108,180,352 $13,049,381 12.1% $1,842,348
Borgata BetMGM | Borgata $63,322,090 $6,993,090 11.0% $1,038,839
Tropicana Atlantic City Caesars | Mojo $32,140,702 $3,880,399 12.1% $549,822
Freehold Barstool | PlayUp | betParx $22,667,777 $2,738,848 12.1% $383,725
Hard Rock Atlantic City Hard Rock | bet365 | Unibet $19,235,682 $2,323,529 12.1% $324,795
Monmouth Park BetRivers | Caesars $15,395,490 $1,875,047 12.2% $239,418
Caesars Atlantic City WynnBet | 888 $4,256,402 $515,893 12.1% $69,817
Ocean Tipico $3,760,851 $458,538 12.2% $45,555
Golden Nugget Atlantic City Golden Nugget | Betway $1,623,674 $197,568 12.2% $25,720
Harrah’s Atlantic City Prophet | Fubo $1,056,082 $131,798 12.5% $7,688
Bally’s Atlantic City VIE $577,721 -$72,099 -12.5% -$901
Total $546,763,022 $65,273,756 11.9% $9,138,154

NJ online casino revenue summer trends

It appeared that NJ online casino revenue solidified itself a month ago, finally turning the tide and generating more earnings. July marked the first time in four months that profits rose.

Unfortunately for Garden State operators, this didn’t last very long. Not only did revenue dip, but it fell below where each of the last five months finished.

While this might concern some, this is actually the same trend that happened a year ago. July figures witnessed a boost from June, before settling back down in August.

NJ casinos pulled in around $119 million in July 2021, then just $113 the following month. September wagering ended up providing even more revenue, with Oct. 2021 building off of that to total more than $127 million.

With a lot of NJ residents still visiting the state’s retail casinos, it’s possible some revenue is lost there.

Still, earnings are up a solid amount from 12 months ago. The 16% difference from Aug. 2021 is about $18 million worth. The year-over-year difference sits at a little over $216 million.

Through August, just three casino license holders and their online partners have reported more than $100 million in earnings for the year. These include Borgata, Golden Nugget, and Resorts Digital.

While it ranks third in that grouping, Resorts Digital is seeing the most growth from last year, sitting with about 40% more profit. Its 2022 revenue thus far is right around $242 million, almost $70 million more than this time in 2021. It was around this time last year when the Barstool Casino NJ app went live.

Borgata/BetMGM dominate, but big three earn less

The Borgata, led by its online apps of BetMGM and Borgata Casino, took control of the market again in August. It was the only licensee to exceed $40 million in monthly revenue, taking in about $41.8 million total.

This is now four straight months in which the Borgata reached that mark. It was the first to ever do so in March.

Although its online casinos brought in about 12% more revenue this month compared to Aug. 2021, it fell around $1.2 million from July. It wasn’t the only one, either.

Both Golden Nugget (led by Golden Nugget Online Casino) and Resorts Digital (includes DraftKings and PokerStars) basically did the same. Golden Nugget came up a bit short of last month’s productivity, while Resorts remained stagnant.

Golden Nugget still topped $31 million, but it came up well short of July’s figure of $34.5 million. Resorts ended up generating about $30.7 million in August, only $200,000 more than July.

Despite the lackluster month for all three, there isn’t much competition creeping up behind them. The closest NJ online casino provider in terms of revenue is Caesars Interactive, which finished the month just shy of $9 million.

Here is a closer look at the August NJ online casino results by license holder.

Licensee Total Revenue Casino Games Poker Promos Taxes
Borgata $41,823,848 $41,099,139 $724,709 $2,315,791 $7,295,828
Golden Nugget Atlantic City $31,376,905 $31,376,905 $0 $4,303,229 $5,492,195
Resorts Atlantic City $30,743,374 $30,111,042 $632,332 2,597,888 $5,362,917
Caesars Atlantic City $8,900,003 $8,050,391 $849,612 $0 $1,537,787
Hard Rock Atlantic City $5,777,667 $5,777,667 $0 $339,698 $1,015,060
Tropicana Atlantic City $5,366,268 $5,366,268 $0 $0 $939,097
Bally’s Atlantic City $4,527,787 $4,527,787 $0 $665,515 $790,916
Ocean $2,922,331 $2,922,331 $0 $38,929 $512,100
Total $131,438,183 $129,231,530 $2,206,653 $10,261,050 $22,945,900

NFL futures could impact NJ sports betting revenue

While online casino gaming didn’t hit new heights last month, sports betting in the Garden State did. August revenue topped $65 million for sports wagering, the best showing since March made $66 million.

NJ sportsbooks got a boost of nearly $6 million from June to July, before taking it to the next level. August earnings surpassed $20 million more, or an increase of 45%.

That wasn’t the only good news, as the state’s handle also saw improvements. It totaled about $547 million, up almost $16 million from July.

This month’s handle might not be that overwhelming (it reached over $925 million in April), however, the revenue that accompanied it was. NJ sportsbooks earned more in August than they did in April or May, when handle hovered around $765 million.

Part of that reason could be from a wide range of NFL futures. With the new season starting in early September, lots of bettors get their futures action in the month beforehand.

Since any futures bets for the NFL or college football won’t be settled for several months, all of that money wagered comes in as revenue.

Fortunately for operators, the flow of income shouldn’t slow down with actual football games starting up this current month.

Photo by Shutterstock
Chris Imperiale Avatar
Written by
Chris Imperiale

Chris Imperiale covers legal sports betting and casino gambling in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He has a journalism degree from Rutgers University and was formerly on staff at Bleacher Report.

View all posts by Chris Imperiale