The Garden State has long been the number two gambling region in the US, behind Nevada. However, concerning remote gaming, New Jersey has long reigned supreme. The fifth-smallest state in land area in the United States allowed in-state online gaming in 2013, thanks to a 2011 novel interpretation of the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 from the Department of Justice, which stated that this law only applies to sports betting, not casino gambling. That opened the door for US territories to regulate this pastime as they saw fit.
In New Jersey, Borgata and 888 (888 Holdings) were the first operators to establish gaming sites available for New Jersey residents. Today, twenty-nine such platforms exist, including brands run by BetMGM, Hard Rock, Caesars Palace, Virgin, and Bally.
In 2023, the NJDGE (The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement) reported that online revenues from gambling jumped by 10.9% from the previous year, with this activity pulling in $5.2 billion in revenues. That increase occurred across the three core markets. Internet poker has been available to state residents since 2013, and sports betting over the Web became a reality for New Jersians in 2018, quickly after the fall of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992.
The land-based sphere also noted a jump in revenue figures, accounting for $2.85 billion of the state’s entire gambling take, a 2.2% year-on-year rise. Slot numbers jumped by 3.3% to $2.1 billion. Yet, interest in table games fell, evident by only $736 million generated from these gaming products in New Jersey in 2023, representing a dip of 0.7% compared to 2022.
New Jersey iGaming Revenues
The rising popularity of New Jersey gambling sites has recently kicked up lots of dust in the public in the US’ most densely populated state. That stemmed from a new NERA Economic Consulting research that concluded that the state was financially worse off on account of the legalization of online gambling. The study claimed that New Jersey lost $180 million in 2022 due to allowing remote games of chance for real money. Nevertheless, many experts have criticized the methodology used, with the founder of iDEA, Jeff Ifrah, stating that the research’s conclusion was reached using false and inaccurate readings of the available data, ignoring many benefits this sector has created.
That aside, the facts, not open to interpretation, say that iGaming revenues are higher than ever, hitting a new annual high of $1.9 billion in 2023, a 15.7% improvement over the 2022 number. For those unfamiliar with this industry, iGaming refers to software and streaming games of chance, primarily casino classics. Hence, online slot action showed the best jump, hitting $1.89 billion, or a 15.9% enhancement, with Golden Nugget raking in $524 million in revenue, the best of any iGaming brand, with Resorts Digital and Borgata following suit in second and third place, generating $507 million and $489 million respectively.
New Jersey Sports Betting Revenues
Concerning online sportsbooks operating in New Jersey, residents are offered sixteen options. These platforms were responsible for this Internet gambling landscape, bringing in one billion dollars in revenues for the first time, improving the 2022 figure by 31.9%. The total 2023 handle (land-based and digital) came to $11.97 billion, a 9.5% yearly surge. Of this figure, only $527 million got wagered at retail bookmakers, and the rest got made online, where FanDuel, PointsBet, and SuperBook dominated, followed by DraftKings and Resorts World.
New Jersey Online Poker Revenues
The original Internet poker platform in the Garden State began accepting users a decade ago. That occurred in November 2013, and from that point till 2023, this New Jersey gambling arena has generated $270 million. Without question, the market top contributor is one of its first regulated hubs, the website operating under the WSOP/888 network, and via a Caesars license, which has pulled in an average monthly rate of $865,000, totaling over $100 million from its launch till today.
Its main competitors are PartyPoker, Borgata, and BetMGM, a trio running on the BetMGM NJ Poker network, which has produced (altogether) a monthly rate of $787,000, or around $95 million in combined revenues.
PokerStars (under a Resorts license) has also yet to do too shabbily in New Jersey, generating an all-time revenue figure of $71 million for ninety-three operating months, which comes to an average monthly intake of $767,000.
It is paramount to highlight that this market has seen various ups and downs over its decade-long existence. It saw the exiting of Betfair and Ultimate Gaming, both of which closed up shop after less than a year, and the COVID-19 pandemic creating a mini online poker boom, sky-rocketing the sphere’s revenues by 75% in 2020 to a high of $36.6 million.
To Sum Up
Brick-and-mortar casinos in New Jersey have seen better days, as two-thirds of gaming venues in the state display lower numbers from in-person gambling entertainment than they did pre-2020. That said, the online sector is doing better than ever, soaring by 10.9% overall, with iGaming revenues reaching an all-time high of $1.9 billion, or a 15.7% jump. Online poker, a section of the remote gambling sector in New Jersey that has faced various challenges, is still maintaining, and sports betting is also notching impressive numbers, on the rise in this region, as everywhere in the US.