New Jersey’s Online Gaming Industry Sets Record High Revenues in 2022

New Jersey’s gambling revenue hit an all-time high in 2022, reaching $5.2 billion. This record-breaking success can be attributed to the growth in online casinos and sports betting, which helped to contribute to the bottom line of the industry. According to figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, casinos, horse tracks, and online partners won $5.21 billion last year, a 10% increase from the previous year and matching a level not seen since 2006. The state’s gambling industry has diversified and expanded in recent years, with new launches and partnerships contributing to its success. Despite competition from neighboring states, New Jersey remains a strong player in the US sports betting market.

• New Jersey gambling revenue, boosted significantly by online gaming. matched highs previously set in 2006.
• Continued innovation and expansion in the New Jersey casino market — including several new launches — helped to drive profits.
• Online gaming — particularly mobile sports betting — drives record-setting casino profits nationwide.

Online gaming led New Jersey casinos and sportsbooks to match all-time high revenues last year. In 2022, the state’s gambling revenue matched its previous high of $5.2 billion, but only half that amount was won by casinos from in-person gamblers.

Figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the casinos, the horse tracks that take sports bets, and online partners of both types of gambling won $5.21 billion last year, up 10% from a year earlier and matching a level not seen since 2006. That was just before casino gambling became legal in neighboring Pennsylvania. The availability of gambling in Pennsylvania caused New Jersey’s gambling industry to take a significant hit, eventually leading to the closures of five of the 12 casinos operating at the time.

But 2022’s record-matching high revenues were largely due to internet and sports betting—revenue streams that help contribute to the bottom line but are also heavily shared with third parties such as sports books and tech platforms

New Jersey Gambling Revenues Increase as 2022 Closes

New Jersey sports wagering increased in 2022 as the year progressed, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, with most sportsbooks seeing larger revenue later in the year. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement’s official release of sports betting figures for November 2022 shows that New Jersey sports betting surpassed $1.1 billion in bets for the month. That was the third-highest amount New Jersey sportsbooks reported in 2022.

November was the fourth month that New Jersey saw more than $1 billion in bets for 2022, and only January’s $1.35 billion and March’s $1.12 billion in wagers were larger.

Meanwhile, New Jersey closed out the year with December total gaming revenue up 13%. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported gambling revenue for casinos, racetracks, and their partners of $454.8 million for December 2022, a 13% increase from the $404.1 million reported in December 2021.

Total gaming revenue for the year-to-date amounted to $5.21 billion, up 10% from the $4.74 billion reported in the prior-year period.

Casino win—which includes nine New Jersey casino hotel properties—for December 2022 was $215.6 million, a 2% increase from the prior-year period. Year-to-date casino win for the properties amounted to $2.79 billion, reflecting a 9% year-on-year growth.

Internet gaming win by casinos and their partners for December 2022 grew 14% year-on-year to $151.5 million. The vertical also reported growth for the year-to-date period, climbing 22% year-on-year to $1.66 billion.

Finally, sports wagering revenue of casinos, racetracks and their partners increased by 49% to $87.7 million in December 2022. It did, however, decline for the year-to-date period, decreasing by 7% to $763 million.

The Meadowlands—where FanDuel, PointsBet and Superbook operate—led sports betting revenue market share at 50.4%, with Resorts Digital—where DraftKings and Fox Bet operate, coming in second at 25%.

New Launches Contribute to New Jersey’s Gaming Revenue Success

New Jersey played host to many launches at the end of 2022, with PlayStar Casino launching an iGaming casino app and BetMGM agreeing to a deal with Play’n Go in New Jersey in October. Greco then registered as a vendor in the state in November, and Ocean Casino Resort added a second live dealer studio. Finally, PokerStars New Jersey  online casino merged with its Michigan online casino partner in December.

The New Jersey sports betting market remains strong despite the success of New York’s mobile sports betting market. Fears of New Jersey losing gaming income to the Empire State have largely been unfounded so far.

New Jersey is the second biggest sports betting market in the US in terms of action consistently. 

Revenue Growth in the New Jersey Casino Market a Result of Continued Expansion and Diversification

Sarah Grady, assistant director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University, which studies the Atlantic City gambling industry, told The Press of Atlantic City that it took an enormous amount of work by both casinos and state government to replicate the levels of 2006, when gambling revenue consisted solely of winnings from in-person gamblers.

“To compare these returns, it is important to consider how much the market has changed in the past 16 years,” she said. “To achieve the returns we have today took a substantial expansion and diversification of the New Jersey gaming product to compete with increased competition from neighboring states.”

Much of that expansion and diversification was necessitated by the legalization of internet gambling in 2013, followed by the introduction of sports betting in 2018 based upon a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case brought by New Jersey that cleared the way for any state to offer legal sports betting. Today, thirty-three states have legalized sports betting up and running in some form, with three more pending launches.

“In 2022, the Atlantic City casino industry continued to face challenges, including the lingering effects from the pandemic, a difficult economy and high inflation,” said Mark Giannantonio, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey. “As we move into a new year, Atlantic City casinos are committed to providing the best possible experience for our customers, which includes making significant investments that will continue to solidify Atlantic City’s position as a world-class resort destination with top-notch dining, shopping and entertainment offerings.”

In-person winnings from gamblers finally surpassed pre-pandemic levels of 2019 — a long-sought goal of the Atlantic City casino industry. The casinos won $2.78 billion from in-person gamblers in 2022, compared with $2.68 billion in 2019.

Six casinos had more total gambling revenue in 2022 than they did the year before.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa lead the market, winning $1.3 billion in overall gambling revenue, up 18.2%. Golden Nugget Casino won $581 million, up 10.2%. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City won $576 million, up 12.7%. Ocean Casino Resort won $389 million, up 13.6%. Tropicana Casino won $365 million, up 2.9%, and Bally’s won $198 million, up 37.3%.

Meanwhile, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City won $258 million, down 3.4%; Caesars won $239 million, down 1%; and Resorts Casino Hotel won $168 million, down 0.3%.

Resorts Digital, Resorts Casino Hotel’s online arm, won $546 million, up 21.3%, while Caesars Interactive NJ won $113 million, up 1%.

In terms of in-person gambling revenue, Borgata won $724 million, up 19.5%. Hard Rock won $492 million, up 14.2%; Ocean won $356 million, up 16.3%; Harrah’s won $257 million, down 3.2%; Tropicana won $248 million, down 1.8%; Caesars won $235 million, down 0.7%; Resorts won $167 million, up 0.8%; Bally’s won $153 million, up 9.4%; and Golden Nugget won $148 million, up 1.1%.

New Jersey casinos, sports books and internet gambling operations paid more than $526 million in taxes in 2022, nearly half of that coming from a 15% tax on online gambling revenue.

New Jersey’s casinos and horse tracks took nearly $11 billion worth of sports bets in 2022, slightly more than  in 2021.

Of that $11 billion, the casinos, tracks and their online partners kept $726 million as revenue after paying off winning bets and other expenses.

The 2022 figures got a nice boost from a strong December, in which total gambling revenue was 

Sports Betting Continues to Boom Across the US

New Jersey isn’t the only market seeing successful betting numbers to close out the year. Maryland recently launched mobile sports betting and saw massive numbers at the close of November. Over $186 million in mobile bets were placed in just nine days of activity.

Indiana also reached a major milestone in November with over $10 billion in lifetime bets reported. This came off of a $452.3 million November betting handle. 

The US sports betting industry continues to grow as we move into 2023. With new markets such as Ohio and Massachusetts currently launching, and prospective markets such as Missouri and Minnesota attempting to pass mobile sports gaming legislation, expect the record revenues recorded in 2022 to continue to rise.