Better days are nearing as online casinos and poker lead New Jersey

Atlantic City

Better days are nearing for New Jersey’s gaming industry assert analysts at PlayNJ, with online casinos and poker continuing to lead the state’s gaming industry but sportsbook producing “a surprising” handle of $165m during June.

Despite the latter figure falling $300m lower than expectations for a regular June, optimism is highlighted amid the impending return of major sports and retail casinos, as well as significant investments in online casinos and poker

According to figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement total revenue came in at $97.5m, a significant drop from 2019’s $283.7m but rising narrowly from $95.8m month-on-month.

Online casinos and poker produced $84.9m in revenue, down 1.2 per cent from May’s $85.9m record, generating $2.8m a day during the course of the month and yielding $12.8m in taxes.

Further manoeuvres in the region saw Golden Nugget Online Gaming, which dominated the market again in June with $29.15m in revenue, announce plans to go public, as well as MGM Resorts and GVC Holdings unveiling plans to invest $250m in its online platform.

“The Golden Nugget Online Gaming going public, in addition to the recent success of DraftKings stock, shows just how much interest investors have in the future of online gambling,” explained Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayNJ.com.

“Online gambling has proven its importance to the industry through this crisis. Even if the growth slows with the return of retail casinos, it will continue to be an enormously important vertical for the industry.”

Gross revenue across the Garden State’s sports betting scene hit $12.6m, up from May’s $9.9m and from $9.7m in June 2019, and yielded $1.7m in state taxes.

FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet led the way with $6.2m in revenue, up from $4.3m in May, followed by $3.9m for the Resorts Digital/DraftKings/Fox Bet trifecta.

“The robust betting on nontraditional sports since the sports world has shuttered has been a surprise, but it will never completely make up for the loss of major sports,” added Eric Ramsey, an analyst for PlayNJ.com.

“Futures will continue to gain steam, fueled by pent-up demand, as the opening of baseball, basketball, and hockey nears. If plans continue to move forward, July and August should produce a significant leap.”