New Jersey online gambling has been booming, with its Atlantic City casinos and its partners raking in some record-breaking revenues. The state reached a major breakthrough on this count as it exceeded $200 million in revenue for the first time.

Amid other states like Pennsylvania setting the standard in this regard, New Jersey has been its closest competitor in terms of iGaming revenue. The state now seems to be finally coming into its own as one of the markets setting the standards when it comes to this dynamic sector.

Online Gambling Gains Amid the Age of Newer Platforms

NJ caters to a range of online casino and sports betting options for local players. As one of only a handful of states that offer fully legalized online gambling, business has been booming. However, offshore instant withdrawal casino sites are also massively popular in the state, despite the accessibility of state-regulated sites.

These offshore sites offer a range of enhanced perks. As the name suggests, virtually instantaneous payments are a large part of their charm. They also provide other benefits like no-KYC (Know Your Customer) registrations, and the ability to play with cryptocurrency. This last aspect is significant as it helps enable the other perks since blockchain technology is becoming widely recognized now for its ability to facilitate faster, cheaper, and more secure transactions that also provide a degree of anonymity for players.

In comparison, traditional online casinos that face a range of regulations can sometimes be stifled by these. As regulated iGaming caters to player safety and ensures a responsible gaming market, these sites are forced to adhere to strict rules regarding everything from payment processes to betting limits, how they can advertise, and how they have to share their revenue.

In that sense, while the $208 million NJ raked in during September is a significant milestone, the profits from online gambling have to be shared among various partners, including technology providers. This means the full amount isn’t solely for the casinos. As a result, many casinos still view in-person gambling as their primary source of revenue.

The performance of physical casinos has varied, with many still struggling to match pre-pandemic revenue levels. In September, the casinos collectively made $6 million more in in-person revenue compared to September 2019. However, five out of the nine casinos earned less money on their casino floors than they did five years ago.

Internet Gambling Boosts Overall Revenue

The increase earned from online gambling which is boosted by sports betting and racetracks platforms resulted in an overall revenue of over half a billion in September. This is a staggering amount and works out to more than 7% compared to the revenue earned during September 2023.

According to James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, internet gaming’s success played a crucial role in boosting Atlantic City’s overall revenue to its highest September figure in over a decade. It was noted that gaming revenue exceeded $500 million for three months in a row now.

Last year, this threshold was only reached once during August. Jane Bokunewicz from the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University felt that these results were “mixed.” In her view, despite earnings soaring, physical casino revenues still lagged behind. According to Levenson, online gambling revenue also made up 40.8% of Atlantic City’s total revenue in the first nine months of the year.

Individual Casino Performances

When it came to in-person revenues, the results were varied. For example, Borgata casino recorded an increase in revenue but many others experienced declines during the same period. Meanwhile, online and sports betting revenues provided a vital lift, helping some casinos offset losses from in-person activities.

Overall, these revenues continue to play an important role in the casino’s earnings, though not all have fully recovered to their pre-pandemic performance levels. The sports betting handle for September was in excess of $1 billion — a feat it had already achieved by November 2023. Despite this, casinos and their partners only retained just under $120 million of this. This indicates that while the volume of betting is high, the actual retained revenue is a smaller portion.

Outlook for the Future

As online gambling continues to grow, it plays an increasingly vital role in New Jersey’s gambling industry. The success of internet gaming has allowed the state’s casinos to maintain steady growth, even as in-person revenues fluctuate. However, the reliance on shared revenue with technology partners remains a key consideration for the future.