Gambling Revenue in New Jersey Increases by 10.4% In February

The gambling regulator in New Jersey, the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), released its latest report outlining the performance of racetracks, casinos and their partners during February 2023. Overall, the gaming revenue reported by the gambling operators and their partners last month hit $412.2 million. This result, when compared to the $373.3 million reported for the corresponding period in 2022, marked a strong growth of 10.4%.

Focusing on the bigger picture, the year-to-date results showed a similar increase in the total gaming revenue reported by racetracks, casinos and their partners. Judging by the figures from the DGE, year-to-date results showed $849.1 million in revenue, representing an increase of 12.5% when compared to the same period in 2022 when the total gaming revenue was $755.0 million.

More importantly, the total gaming revenue reported for February this year surpassed the pre-pandemic results. The $412.2 million in total gaming revenue completely surpassed the $287.3 million and $241.2 million in total gaming revenue reported by casinos, racetracks and their partners in February 2020 and February 2019 respectively.

The licensed gambling operators in New Jersey contributed nearly $7 million in taxes, according to the DGE’s latest report. For February 2023, the racetrack economic development tax was $433,146, while casinos reported tax obligations of $6.5 million.

Revenue Growth Driven by iGaming, Sports Betting

A breakdown provided by the gambling regulator in New Jersey reveals that the gaming revenue in February was primarily driven by a strong performance of online gambling activities, as well as sports betting. Sports wagering revenue last month hit $54.6 million, representing a significant increase of 76.9% when compared to the $30.9 million result from the same period in 2022.

The betting handle reported by sports betting operators last month was $847.4 million. That result breaks down to $801.4 million in online sports wagering handle and $46 million in retail sports betting handle for February.

On the other hand, iGaming operations also saw an uptick in revenue with internet gaming win reported for February hitting $142.6 million. This result, when compared to the $130 million reported for February 2022 marks an increase of $12.6 million or 9.7% growth.

Last but not least, the core of the gambling sector, the land-based activities, saw a slight increase in revenue. In total, casino win for February marked an increase of 1.2% to $215 million, when compared to the corresponding period in 2022. Although slot machine win increased by 3.5% to $159.3 million, table game win dipped by 4.9% halting at $55.6 million.