Gambling in the USA
PlayNJ.com: Retail, online sportsbooks gain with NCAA Tournament while online casinos enjoy March Madness of their own
New Jersey sportsbooks surged on the strength of March Madness, including the largest retail handle in more than two years, but fell well short of the first $1 billion wagering month in U.S. sports betting history, perhaps delaying the milestone at least until football season, according to PlayNJ, which analyzes and researches the state’s regulated online gaming and sports betting market. This while online casino gaming continued shatter records in March, setting a fresh high with more than $113 million in revenue.
“March represents a much-needed bounce back after a somewhat disappointing February,” said Dustin Gouker lead analyst for PlayNJ.com. “It will probably be until football season before the state gets that first $1 billion month, but New Jersey’s online market has made a habit of outperforming expectations. Longer term, though, New Jersey’s market faces serious challenges, most notably New York’s expected launch of online sports betting later this year.”
New Jersey’s sportsbooks accepted $859.6 million in wagers in March, according to official data released Friday. That is the state’s highest monthly handle in a month without football, and a sharp difference from the $181.9 million handle in March 2020, a month marred by pandemic-related shutdowns. It is also up 15.7% from the $743 million handle in February.
Including March’s handle, New Jersey has posted the eight highest-volume months in U.S. sports betting history.
March’s wagers produced $60.8 million in revenue. That is up 360.9% from $13.2 million in March 2020, and up 31.5% from $46.2 million February. March’s win resulted in $7.7 million in taxes for the state.
The leap forward in March was expected with the return of the NCAA Tournament, which was immensely popular in 2019 in New Jersey but was canceled in 2020. To that end, basketball accounted for $441.7 million of the state’s handle in March, up from $320.3 million in January and $325.8 million in February. With 51.4%, basketball accounted for the largest share of March’s handle of any sport by far.
Retail sportsbooks generated $79.5 million in bets, the highest volume for retail books since January 2019.
“The popularity of college basketball is what led to the resurgence of retail sportsbooks, good news for a segment that hasn’t seen much over the last year,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayNJ.com. “If New Jersey allowed betting on in-state college teams, the run by Rutgers could have given them an additional boost. Regardless, it was an excellent month for sportsbooks.”
Online betting accounts for 90.8%, or $780.1 million, of the state’s total handle in March. FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet topped the online market with $28.5 million in gross revenue, up from $24.9 million in February.
FanDuel was followed in revenue by:
Resorts Digital/DraftKings/Fox Bet ($14.1 million, up from $7.7 million in February)
BetMGM/Borgata ($6.5 million, up from $4.4 million)
Ocean Casino/William Hill ($2.8 million, up from $2 million)
Monmouth/William Hill/SugarHouse/TheScore ($2.2 million, down from $2.5 million)
Hard Rock/Bet365/Unibet ($1.4 million, up from $1 million)
Caesars Sportsbook/888sport ($721,776, up from $317,766)
Tropicana/William Hill ($142,633, up from $71,758)
Golden Nugget/BetAmerica ($111,453, up from -$37,143)
Meadowlands/FanDuel led all retail books with $2.8 million in revenue.
“New York’s decision to create a closed market was good news for operators who are heavily vested in New Jersey,” Gouker said. “By closing the market, the select few operators that will operate in New York will have to focus on profitability just to meet the state’s high revenue split. That will leave a window open for some operators to offer more competitive products and promote more aggressively than any operator in New York.”
Online casinos and poker
For all the attention paid to New Jersey’s sportsbooks, online casinos and poker remain the biggest winner in the state. Online casino games and poker generated a U.S. record $113.7 million in revenue, up 75.4% from $64.8 million in March 2020, which was the first month of a year-long expansion. March’s revenue topped the previous record of $103.8 million set in January.
Online casinos and poker generated a record $3.7 million per day over the 31 days in March, up from $3.4 million per day over 28 days in February. The result for the state was $17.1 million in taxes.
Revenue from online casinos was $111 million, up from $61.2 million in March 2020. Online poker produced $2.7 million, down from $3.6 million in March 2020.
For the first time in years Golden Nugget was not the market leader in March. Borgata generated a market record $36.2 million in revenue on online casino games and poker, up from $25.7 million in February. Golden Nugget generated $31.8 million in March revenue, up from $27.9 million in February.
“Borgata’s increasing focus on and success in the online market shows how the pandemic changed the dynamic for online casinos,” Ramsey said. “Even when we get past this pandemic, I don’t think gamblers will log into online casinos any less. Instead, this year-long surge points to a long-lasting market shift.
For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting and online gaming in New Jersey, visit PlayNJ.com/news.
Gambling in the USA
Scientific Games’ iLottery Games Portfolio Expands as Pixiu Gaming Joins SG Content Hub
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.
BATTLESHIP, CONNECT 4, THE GAME OF LIFE, YAHTZEE and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. ©2025 Hasbro.
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.
© 2025 Scientific Games, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Gambling in the USA
Caesars Entertainment Bolsters Online Casino Live Dealer Offering with the Launch of Branded Live Dealer Studio in Michigan
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.
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.
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