Gambling in the USA

New Jersey Sportsbooks Fall $370 Million Short Of Expectations While Online Casinos Boom

Published

5 years ago

April 16, 2020

Shutdown causes slowest sports-betting month since August 2018, but online casinos and poker help steady industry, according to PlayNJ

ATLANTIC CITY — New Jersey’s retail and online sportsbooks took in a third of the expected handle in March, while online casinos and poker rooms boomed to unseen heights. In all, New Jersey’s sportsbooks lost out on nearly $370 million in sports wagers in March, according to PlayNJ estimates, while online casino and poker revenue smashed the previous record with $64.8 million in revenue.

“Shutdowns from the coronavirus pandemic are affecting New Jersey’s gaming industry in ways that are unprecedented, and that will continue until the country begins to return to some semblance of normalcy,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayNJ.com. “New Jersey’s online casinos are a boon to the gaming industry, which employs thousands and generates millions in tax revenue for the state. But it’s not enough to fully bridge the gap from the revenue lost from sportsbooks and Atlantic City’s land-based casinos.”

New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks appeared to be headed for a month of $550 million in wagers. Instead, sportsbooks collected just $181.9 million in bets, according to official reporting released Wednesday. In an industry that has seen consistent year-over-year growth of 50% or more, March’s handle was down 51% from the $372.5 million handle posted in March 2019 and down 63% from $494.8 million in February 2020. March’s handle, which pushed New Jersey sportsbooks past $7 billion in lifetime wagers, was the smallest since sportsbooks collected $95.6 million in August 2018.

New Jersey sportsbooks did manage to produce $13.2 million in gross revenue, yielding $1.7 million in tax revenue for the state. But revenue was down 58% from $31.7 million in March 2019.

Most came from bets made before March 11, when the NBA suspended its season and sent a wave of cancelations through the sports world. That left bettors with just a handful of international events and futures betting, mostly on the NFL. The most significant loss for bettors was the NCAA Tournament, one of the nation’s most important sports betting holidays, which would have generated more than $150 million in New Jersey alone, according to PlayNJ.com estimates.

“With the NCAA Tournament, NBA, and opening of the baseball season canceled or postponed, the loss of March revenue will not be something that New Jersey sportsbooks can make up,” said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for PlayNJ.com. “Until sports are able to get going again, New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks will continue to be uncomfortably quiet.”

Online betting generated 89.9%, or $163.4 million, of the state’s handle in March. FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet led online sportsbooks with $5.7 million in gross revenue, down from $9.6 million in February. FanDuel was followed in revenue by:

Resorts Digital/DraftKings/Fox Bet ($5.1 million, up from $4 million in February).
Monmouth/William Hill/Sugarhouse/TheScore ($849,236, down from $1.3 million)
BetMGM/Borgata ($609,235, down from $1 million)
Ocean Casino/William Hill ($635,620, up from $168,015)
Hard Rock/Bet365/Unibet ($167,314, up from $96,397)
Golden Nugget/BetAmerica ($143,209, down from $308,997)
Caesars Sportsbook/888sport ($44,413, up from $34,183)
Tropicana/William Hill ($17,180, down from $30,558)

FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands led the retail market with $233,360 in gross revenue, down from $1.4 million in February. FanDuel was followed in gross revenue by:

Tropicana Casino ($42,081, down from $91,899)
Monmouth Park (-$196, up from -$51,888)
Bally’s AC (-$6,654, down from $32,199)
Golden Nugget (-$10,348, up from -$135,314)
Hard Rock AC (-$32,854, down from $19,294)
Harrah’s AC (-$39,058, down from $41,649)
Ocean Casino (-$68,436, up from -$65,868)
Resorts AC (-$93,821, down from $47,143)
Borgata (-$122,207, up from -$318,896)

“Professional leagues are trying to figure out a way to get back out on the field, which is the good news,” Gouker said. “The bad news is there is no way to know when that will be, and it doesn’t appear that it will be particularly soon. This is going to be a long road, not just for sportsbooks, but for everybody.”

Online casinos and poker set new records

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Online casinos tell a much different story. With Atlantic City casinos closed and workers sent home across the state, New Jersey’s online casinos and poker rooms shattered their previous revenue record by generating $64.8 million in March. That is up 18% from the previous record of $55.1 million set in January, and up 66% from $39.1 million in March 2019.

Poker, which has languished for years in New Jersey, produced $3.6 million in revenue in March, beating the previous record of $3.1 million set in October 2016. Online casino games easily topped their previous best, too, generating $61.2 million to surpass the record $53.3 million produced in January.

Before March, only online market leader Golden Nugget had ever produced more revenue with its online gambling products than its Atlantic City casino in the same month. The Golden Nugget easily did so again with a record-setting $21.3 million in revenue, and the casino brand for Resorts AC ($13.5 million) did so for the first time. Borgata ($12.2 million) led the remaining list of other online casinos that topped previous bests.

“With Atlantic City casinos closed and sports on hiatus, the importance of online gambling and poker to the state’s gaming industry has never been greater,” Ramsey said. “Online casinos can’t sustain the industry forever, but those with the healthiest online products should be in the best position to emerge from these incredible circumstances. And the tax revenue from online casinos is welcome when so much pressure has been put on the state budget.”

Online casinos and poker generated a record $2.1 million per day during the 31 days in March. That revenue yielded $9.7 million in state taxes.

For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting and online gaming in New Jersey, visit PlayNJ.com/news.

About the PlayUSA.com Network:

The PlayUSA.com Network is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States. With a presence in over a dozen states, PlayUSA.com and its state-focused branches produce daily original reporting, publish in-depth research, and offer player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online gaming options for consumers. Based in Las Vegas, the PlayUSA Network is independently owned and operated, with no affiliations to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.

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Gambling in the USA

Scientific Games’ iLottery Games Portfolio Expands as Pixiu Gaming Joins SG Content Hub

Published

1 week ago

July 21, 2025

Zoltan Tundik

Exciting New Hasbro-Licensed MONOPOLY and BATTLESHIP iLottery Games Coming Via SG Content Hub

Scientific Games welcomed Pixiu Gaming as the newest studio partner to the SG Content Hub. Pixiu Gaming joins the government-regulated lottery industry’s premier iLottery content delivery platform, featuring an expanding, highly curated selection of iLottery games from Scientific Games and partner studios around the globe. The games are available to lotteries in multiple languages and in a variety of play styles for all player segments.

Widely recognized as the leading supplier of Keno games in North American regulated gaming markets, Pixiu Gaming is a boutique developer focused on authentic, engaging and player-centric games. Founded in 2014 and based in London, UK with a remote global team, Pixiu is named after a fierce Chinese mythical creature that attracts and preserves great wealth.

Scientific Games, the world’s largest lottery games company, is collaborating with Pixiu Gaming to bring exciting new MONOPOLY and BATTLESHIP iLottery games to lotteries through its exclusive licensing agreement with Hasbro. Games created by Pixiu Gaming will be available in the SG Content Hub, in addition to games from Scientific Games’ own SG Studios and other premier partner studios worldwide.

Tony Plaskow, Pixiu Gaming Co-Founder, said, “Pixiu Gaming is thrilled to join the SG Content Hub to bring our games to more lotteries. We look forward to working with Scientific Games and Hasbro to create exciting, brand-sensitive MONOPOLY and BATTLESHIP-themed iLottery game experiences. These iconic brands are familiar worldwide, and each provides the perfect mix of strategy and luck. We will weave a true-to-brand digital game experience with fun, simple-to-understand content that entertains players.”

Matt Lynch, President, Digital for Scientific Games, said, “We are very excited to partner with Pixiu Gaming, an up-and-coming studio. Their unique approach to game development and artistic vision brings a differentiated offering to market that will add depth to iLottery portfolios by expanding game play options for existing players while bringing new game experiences to attract new players. Scientific Games is focused on creating an unparalleled range of playstyles and game mechanics for players with the SG Content Hub, and we are proud to soon include play experiences from Pixiu Gaming.”

SG Content Hub offers partner studios select exclusively licensed brands from the company’s portfolio of more than 100 licensed brands, which also includes other Hasbro-licensed games such as CONNECT 4, THE GAME OF LIFE and YAHTZEE. MONOPOLY is perennially the lottery industry’s top performer, with 33 lotteries worldwide offering MONOPOLY-themed games in fiscal year 2025, resulting in more than $2 billion in retail and digital sales during the year.

Scientific Games provides retail and digital games, technology, analytics and services to 150 lotteries in 50 countries worldwide. The company is a digital lottery innovator offering lotteries entertaining game content featuring the most extensive portfolio of licensed brands in the industry, and world-leading digital programs, including CRM, loyalty, promotions, second chance, mobile and web applications.

The MONOPOLY name and logo, the distinctive design of the game board, the four corner squares, the MR. MONOPOLY name and character, as well as each of the distinctive elements of the board and playing pieces are trademarks of Hasbro for its property trading game and game equipment. © 1935, 2025 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro.

Gambling in the USA

Caesars Entertainment Bolsters Online Casino Live Dealer Offering with the Launch of Branded Live Dealer Studio in Michigan

Published

2 weeks ago

July 17, 2025

Niji Narayan

Caesars Entertainment Inc. announced the launch of its third branded online casino live dealer studio, available now to players on Caesars Palace Online Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino and Caesars Sportsbook & Casino in Michigan. Developed in partnership with Evolution, the new studio reinforces Caesars’ commitment to delivering world-class, immersive experiences across its online platforms, inspired by the iconic atmosphere of its Caesars Rewards destinations.

The debut of the new studio marks Caesars’ third branded live dealer studio that has opened in 2025 and draws inspiration from table game play at the Las Vegas Strip’s most iconic casino, Caesars Palace. Its opening follows the successful launch of Caesars’ first branded studio with Evolution in Pennsylvania in January. In April, the Company also debuted its first studio inside a Caesars Rewards destination at Tropicana Atlantic City in New Jersey.

“Our third live dealer studio expands our fully customized live dealer experience that is already extremely popular in Pennsylvania and New Jersey into another key jurisdiction where our online casino platforms are live. The studio design takes inspiration from our flagship destination, Caesars Palace, to authentically recreate the atmosphere of Las Vegas for online players. We look forward to our Michigan players enjoying the new experience,” said Matthew Sunderland, Senior Vice President and Chief iGaming Officer at Caesars Digital.

The new live dealer studio in The Great Lakes State is composed of five blackjack tables, including a VIP-exclusive blackjack table, one roulette table, and one baccarat table. The tables are adorned with custom-branded felts featuring iconic Caesars destinations and each marquee online casino platform, including Caesars Palace Online Casino, Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino, and, for the first time, Tropicana Online Casino.

Select tables also feature custom felts co-branded through partnerships with professional sports teams. Like Caesars Rewards destinations across North America, the studio caters to VIP players with an exclusive high-limit blackjack table offering an authentic 1-to-1 live experience that could previously only be found in a physical casino.

“As the global leader in online live casino with nearly two decades of experience, Evolution is proud to partner once again with Caesars to launch this bespoke live dealer studio in Michigan. The studio brings the unmistakable character of Caesars’ iconic destinations to the online space, offering players in the state a polished, immersive entertainment experience that mirrors the energy and elegance of the casino floor. It’s another bold step forward in our shared commitment to innovation and quality at scale in the online live casino market,” said Marcus Huber, Chief Commercial Officer of Evolution North America.

Caesars Palace Online Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino and Caesars Sportsbook & Casino are available on iOS, Android, and desktop for those 21 and older in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ontario, and West Virginia. Each platform offers a dynamic online casino experience with a range of unique Caesars-branded games alongside hundreds of classic land-based casino favorites and core casino game mechanics, including high limit slots, private live dealer tables, linked progressive jackpots, variations of poker and roulette, and more.

Gambling in the USA

Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel Unveils Expanded Non-Smoking Gaming Floor

Published

3 weeks ago

July 8, 2025

Niji Narayan

Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel has officially opened its newly expanded non-smoking gaming floor, marking a significant milestone in the property’s continued commitment to exceptional guest experiences.

Located adjacent to the hotel lobby, the new, larger non-smoking slot floor will feature nearly 400 of today’s most popular slot machines in a fresh, modern environment designed exclusively for non-smoking guests. This addition enhances the casino’s dedication to providing smoke-free gaming options in a luxury setting. For convenience and ease of access, non-smoking guests can also take advantage of the smoke-free entrance via the hotel’s valet parking.

This new space complements Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel’s existing fully enclosed, non-smoking slot area near Falls Buffet and Snoqualmie Café & Deli, offering guests even more choice and accessibility when it comes to their preferred gaming environment.

In addition to these gaming enhancements, all restaurants on property are 100% non-smoking, making Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel a premier destination for guests seeking an elevated, smoke-free entertainment and dining experience.

“We’re thrilled to offer our guests even more smoke-free options. The expansion of our non-smoking gaming floor reflects our ongoing efforts to listen to our guests and create an atmosphere that’s both exciting and comfortable for everyone,” said Mary Lou Patterson, CEO of Snoqualmie Casino & Hotel.