New Jersey Smashed Online Gaming Revenue Records in March, Mobile Sports Betting Proves Game Changer

Posted on: April 17, 2019, 07:02h. 

Last updated on: April 17, 2019, 07:02h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More

Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

New Jersey online gaming revenues continued their eye-popping upward trajectory in March, almost hitting the $40 million mark, according to figures newly released by the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). Overall revenues not including online sports betting came in at $39,134,380, a record for the sector, beating the previous best by more than $5 million.

March represented the tenth consecutive month of growth for a market that before 2019 had not yet topped $30 million but has increased by more than 33 in just three months. The difference appears to be sports wagering which is thriving online in the Garden State allowing for cross-platform migration from betting to to casino gaming.

Online now accounts for more than 75 percent of all bets placed in the New Jersey sports betting market. Market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel both have online casinos they can cross-sell to their customers — FanDuel via the Betfair Casino NJ, and DraftKings via its very own DraftKings-branded casino, launched at the beginning of the year in partnership with Resorts Atlantic City.

DraftKings Casino Impact

While the DGE does not itemize revenue figures for specific brands operating under the same land-based casino license, it’s clear that the DraftKings casino has had a big impact. In November, before its launch, total online gaming revenue for Resorts World, which includes the Stars Group brands, was around ￡3 million. By March, it was $8.4 million.

Those figures have helped Resorts World climb into second place in terms of market share, behind the Golden Nugget, which partners with Betfair, having been languishing in fourth place back in November.

Poker Weakest Link

Online poker remains the poor cousin, however. Globally, poker struggles to compete with sports betting and casino at the best of time, but it is particularly constrained in the US online gaming markets due to relatively low pools of potential players, despite efforts to form interstate liquidity sharing compacts.

Despite bringing in $1.9 million — narrowly its best haul so far this year — poker revenue is still down from March of last year.

Early adopter New Jersey is serving as a model for states that are considering legislation to regulate sports wagering and/or online gaming. States have been reluctant so far to authorize full-scale online betting, but with the benefits beginning to show so clearly in the New Jersey market, lawmakers across the country will be taking notes.