New Jersey’s online casinos blew past $2 billion in lifetime revenue in July with another record month as sportsbooks accelerated their rebound by posting the best month since February. Ultimately with Atlantic City casinos reopening, as well as baseball and the NBA restarting their seasons, July represented a return to something more resembling normal for the Garden State gaming market, according to PlayNJ analysts.

“It will take some time before Atlantic City rebounds from the closures of the last few months, but we have at least turned a corner in the market with the return of the retail sector,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayNJ.com. “However, online casinos and sportsbooks should drive the overall market as long as the pandemic continues. A big month for both in July only emphasizes that reality.”

Sports betting

With just a week of the baseball season and two days of NBA action, the state’s online and retail sportsbooks collected $315.1 million in wagers in July, up 91% from $165 million in June, according to official reporting released Monday. It is the most substantial handle since sportsbooks produced $494.8 million in February, and up 25.3% from $251.4 million in July 2019.

Gross revenue rose 65.2% in July to $29.6 million from $17.9 million in July 2019. The “win” yielded $3.7 million in state taxes.

Even with the surge, though, sportsbooks were still off by $150 million from the $465 million in wagers a typical July might have attracted, according to PlayNJ estimates. In all, PlayNJ estimates that the shutdown of major sports since March has cost New Jersey sportsbooks about $1.6 billion in bets.

August will likely end the streak of subpar months, though. Assuming a full schedule of baseball, the NBA, and NHL — basketball hit $18 million in wagers and baseball attracted $2.7 million — sportsbooks will offer far more to bettors than in a typical August.

“August should be an unusually busy month for sports betting, and that will help make up a bit of the $1.6 billion in wagers that have been lost so far,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayNJ.com. “The leagues have to stay healthy, though, or we will be right back to where we started.”

Even as Atlantic City casinos reopened in July, online sportsbooks took in 93.9% of the state’s July handle. FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet was again the market leader with $12.2 million in gross revenue, up from $6.2 million in July. FanDuel was followed in revenue by:

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• Resorts Digital/DraftKings/Fox Bet ($8.2 million, up from $3.9 million in June)
• BetMGM/Borgata ($2.3 million, up from $881,435)
• Monmouth/William Hill/Sugarhouse/TheScore ($1.6 million, up from $593,548)
• Ocean Casino/William Hill ($1.4 million, up from $691,135)
• Hard Rock/Bet365/Unibet ($838,812, up from $450,589)
• Caesars Sportsbook/888sport ($357,132, up from $43,561)
• Tropicana/William Hill ($38,358, up from $5,245)
• Golden Nugget/BetAmerica ($85,028, up from $66,533)

In-person sportsbooks drew $19.3 million in bets, an expectedly tepid restart for Atlantic City after being shuttered since March. FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands led the market with $1.9 million in July.

“As long as major sports are played, online sportsbooks will make up for much of what is lost in the retail sector,” Gouker said. “But with the college football season very much in doubt, and the NFL season facing significant hurdles itself, the fall offers a lot of uncertainty at this point.”

Online casinos

Even as Atlantic City reopened, online casinos and poker used another record month to pass $2 billion in lifetime revenue and $300 million in lifetime taxes. July’s $87.5 million in revenue was up 122.5% from $39.3 million in July 2019 and topped the $85.9 million revenue record set in May. July’s “win” yielded $13.1 million in state and local taxes.

Online casinos and poker have now generated $2.01 billion since the industry launched in November 2013, producing $302.3 million in state taxes.

“$2 billion in revenue and $300 million in taxes show just how vital online casinos have become for New Jersey,” Ramsey said. “Especially after the last few months, it’s a sobering thought to imagine where the state’s gaming industry would be without online gambling.”

Some other highlights from July’s report:

• Atlantic City casinos generated $147.4 million in revenue after most reopened in July.
• Online casinos and poker generated $2.8 million a day in the 31 days of July, level with $2.8 million a day in the 30 days of June.
• Revenue from online casino games hit $82.7 million, up from $81.4 million in June.
• Online poker produced $4.8 million in July revenue, up from $3.5 million in June.
• Golden Nugget Online Gaming dominated the market with $31.5 million in July, up from $29.1 million.

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 original daily 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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