January turned out to be a particularly lucrative month for New Jersey’s gambling industry, with total gambling revenue reaching a remarkable $559.1 million. The impressive sum surpasses the previous January’s figures by an astonishing 28.0% and also shows a 7.1% increase from the $522.2 million reported in December of the previous year.
Despite the onslaught of digital gaming options, land-based casinos continued to be the primary source of this windfall, contributing $205.0 million. However, this represents a dip of 3.1% from the year before. One of the cornerstones of casino earnings, physical slot machines, experienced a notable decline, with revenue dropping by 5.8% to $143.0 million. On a more positive note, revenue from land-based table games saw a modest increase of 3.7%, amounting to $62.1 million, signaling that traditional forms of gambling still have their adherents.
Conversely, the igaming sector in New Jersey painted a vastly different picture than its physical counterpart. Revenue from this booming digital market soared to a new monthly record of $183.3 million, notching up 19.9% year-on-year growth. Broken down, online slots were responsible for a staggering $180.8 million of this revenue, which was an increase of 20.4%. Internet poker, on the other hand, bucked the trend and witnessed an 8.2% decrease in revenue, generating $2.5 million.
As far as individual performers in the igaming sphere, Golden Nugget took the lead, boasting $52.2 million in revenue for the month of January. Resorts Digital followed closely in second place with $49.3 million, with Borgata trailing behind at $42.0 million.
A record-shattering performance was observed in the sports wagering department as well. January brought in a record $170.8 million in sports betting revenue, which was a colossal increase of 136.1% compared to the same period last year. This surge was propelled by record-breaking player spending. The overall handle for January amounted to $1.72 billion, encompassing a 5.3% year-on-year growth. Out of this grand total, online betting constituted a massive $1.67 billion, with retail sports betting making up the remaining $47.4 million.
Meadowlands with partners FanDuel, PointsBet, and SuperBook sustained their dominance in the field, generating an imposing revenue of $113.0 million. Not far behind, DraftKings and Resorts World racked up $40.3 million, while Borgata and BetMGM collected $8.0 million.
The extraordinary results from January suggest that New Jersey is well-positioned to break even more records in the year 2024. Reflecting on the performance of the past year, the state achieved an all-time high in total revenue, closing at $5.78 billion.
The igaming sector specifically recorded a staggering revenue of $1.92 billion, marking not only a new record but also a growth of 15.7% over 2022. As for sports betting, it too reached unprecedented heights with annual revenues touching $1.01 billion, escalating by 31.9% relative to the previous year and crossing the $1.00 billion threshold for the first time.
In sum, New Jersey’s gambling landscape continues to thrive with substantial contributions from both traditional casinos and the exploding online market, setting the stage for even more promising prospects in the coming months. The demonstrated resilience and growth are indicative of a sector that consistently finds ways to evolve and capitalize on both enduring and emerging consumer preferences.
