Gambling in the USA

NEW JERSEY SPORTSBOOKS POST SLOWEST MONTH IN TWO YEARS WHILE ONLINE CASINOS EXPAND RECORD-SETTING PACE

Published

5 years ago

May 14, 2020

New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Announces April 2023 Total Gaming Revenue Results

With few sports to bet on and retail sportsbooks shuttered completely, New Jersey’s sportsbooks were out of about $450 million in bets in April, according to PlayNJ estimates. But while sportsbooks and Atlantic City casinos languish, revenue at online casinos and poker rooms continue to skyrocket, hitting a record $80 million in April.

“Seeing New Jersey’s retail sportsbook handle at zero and its land-based casinos generate no revenue is jarring, laying bare just how much these shutdowns are costing the industry,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayNJ.com. “The jump in revenue from online casinos and poker is welcome, but there is no way yet for it to fully make up for the revenue lost by Atlantic City’s casinos and sportsbooks.”

According to official reporting released Wednesday, New Jersey’s sportsbooks collected just $54.6 million in bets in April. Announced ahead of the second anniversary of the PASPA decision that opened the door to legal gambling in New Jersey, which is Friday, sportsbooks posted the lowest statewide total since $40.7 million was wagered in July 2018. That was the first full month of legal sports betting and before online sportsbooks had launched.

April’s handle was down 82.6% from $313.7 million in April 2019 and down 70% from $181.9 million in March. Under normal circumstances, New Jersey sportsbooks would have generated some $500 million in bets in April, according to PlayNJ.com estimates.

New Jersey’s handle yielded $2.6 million in gross revenue, down 87.7% from $21.2 million in April 2019 and 80.3% from $13.2 million in March 2020. April’s revenue generated $356,726 in state taxes.

“This is the U.S. gaming industry’s first full glimpse of the dramatic effect these shutdowns are having, because New Jersey was mature enough last year to offer a true year-over-year comparison,” Gouker said. “The picture for the industry is not pretty, and that will continue until sports leagues figure out a way to reopen.”

With retail sportsbooks shut down entirely in April—potentially wiping out more than $50 million of in-person bets—online sportsbooks accounted for New Jersey’s entire handle. FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet led the market with $1.65 million in gross revenue, down from $5.7 million in March. FanDuel was followed in revenue by:

Resorts Digital/DraftKings/Fox Bet ($604,359, down from $5.1 million in March).
Monmouth/William Hill/Sugarhouse/TheScore ($185,627, down from $849,236)
BetMGM/Borgata ($93,486, up/down from $609,235)
Ocean Casino/William Hill ($91,069, down from $635,620)
Hard Rock/Bet365/Unibet ($43,892, down from $167,314)
Caesars Sportsbook/888sport ($20,095, down from $44,413)
Tropicana/William Hill (-$585, down from $17,180)
Golden Nugget/BetAmerica (-$5,507, down from $143,209)

Nontraditional sports have drawn surprising betting interest. Bets on sports that New Jersey categorizes as “other” than football, baseball, and basketball generated $21.7 million in April, up from $14.8 million in April 2019. And with NASCAR planning on a May start and the PGA Tour planning to tee off in June, bettors could soon have more options on less obscure sports. Meanwhile, baseball and the NBA continue to search for a workable solution to restart their seasons.

“The rise in bets on nontraditional sports has been interesting, and with auto racing and golf appearing closer to starting, that trend could increase,” Gouker said. “There are reasons for optimism, too. Hopefully, we will look back at April and see that it was the clear low point.”

Online casinos and poker set more records

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Online casinos and poker rooms offered the lone bright spot in the state’s gaming industry. Combined they generated a record $79.96 million in April revenue, up 118.6% from $36.6 million in April 2019 and easily topping the $64.8 million mark set last month.

The increase in online revenue is much needed. But the $43.4 million in year-over-year gains in online casino and poker revenue replaces just 20.9% of the $207.6 million in revenue that land-based casinos in Atlantic City generated in April 2019.

Online casinos and poker generated a record $2.7 million per day during the 30 days, up from $2.1 million per day in March. That revenue yielded $12 million in state taxes.

“Such a dramatic shift to digital gambling could permanently alter the market, even after land-based casinos open,” said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for PlayNJ.com. “The longer the current closures go on the higher chance there is for a more permanent shift in bettors’ preferences for digital gaming.”

The Golden Nugget once again topped the market with a record $27.6 million in revenue, up from $21.3 million in March, followed by Resorts AC ($16.2 million) and Borgata ($15.9 million).

Online casinos generated $74.8 million in revenue. Poker—which has almost tripled February’s revenue—posted a record $5.15 million in April. That was up from $3.6 million in March.

“Just three months ago it looked like online poker may all but disappear, now it is breaking revenue records that have stood for six or seven years,” Ramsey said. “That shows just how much the market has changed in such a short time.”

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.