Online gambling continues to be big business in New Jersey and is honestly showing no signs of slowing down. It is really amazing to see what the industry has been able to do over the past few months. Each time the New Jersey Gaming Control Board provides the monthly revenue totals, we see an uptick in some form or fashion. More money just keeps rolling in and the industry keeps added gaming options. With so much on the table, you would think gaming would slow down, but no, it just keeps building. Have a look at September results to see just how well the state is doing in the iGaming sector.
September Numbers
Casinos were open at only 25% capacity in September. So, you would think that overall gambling totals would be down. But no, they are up! That is thanks to online gambling being in the mix. Land-based slots an table games were down just over $33 million for the month, bringing in $190.6 million. Online casino gaming brought in $87.6 million. This is a whopping $46.5 million more than September 2019.
Sports betting was down, which is a bit shocking, since sports have been back in business. The state took in $13.5 million, which is about $4.1 million short of last September. However, the Meadowlands was able to see a nice increase in sports betting, earning over $28 million.
But let’s focus on online casino gaming. How is the state remaining on the high end, earning $80+ million each month? In 2019, the last few months of the year, the state was bringing in earnings in the $40 million range each month. In just one year, these numbers have virtually doubled.
Since April, the online gambling market has brought in over $80 million in revenues. What’s going on? How is that possible? Well, for starters, it is most likely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Players turned to online gaming because they did not have anything else to do.
With casinos shut down, players who would normally head out to the land-based venues, were logging online. Players who had never created an account were starting to just to have some form of entertainment while being stuck at home.
But after a few months, thing kind of got back to normal. While people could get out and about, the numbers didn’t slow down. Players still took to signing in at the online casino sites and playing. But now we have to wonder, will this continue? Did players who started up over the last few months finally see the appeal of online casino gaming? Or is this just a temporary phase?
It will be interesting to take a look at the final three months of the year and see if the increase in earnings will continue. Will online casino sites be able to keep up this $80 million monthly total? Or will the number go up or perhaps down? Only time will tell, but for now, we know that operators are certainly glad to see the huge monthly totals continue to rise!