The NJ online casino industry shattered the $100-million mark once again for November. While the $118 million did not set yet another monthly record, it makes the 10th time this year that NJ online casino revenue exceeded $100 million.
However, the most recent results from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the year-to-date total now stands at $1.2 billion, which continues to build on all-time record. And with December’s results still to come, the industry is enjoying a nearly 42% year-over-year increase.
The bottom line is NJ online casinos revenue is showing no signs of a slow down. Here is a closer look at five reasons why the NJ Internet gaming industry will remain strong heading into 2022.
1. November NJ online casino result ranks No. 4 all-time
If we look back at October’s record $127-million performance, it’s didn’t seem out of the question that NJ online casinos were on the verge of producing their first $130-million month. After all, at the rate the industry is growing this year, a month-over-month increase of just $3 million didn’t seem like a stretch.
Go figure when the year started that a $118-million result would be viewed as a down month. If we look at all-time totals, the number just misses cracking the top three. The second half of 2021 has set the new bar as far as the industry is concerned.
If we look at January through June, March’s $113.7 million was the number to beat.
Then once NFL betting season arrived, business picked up even more. Here is the current top-five list of NJ online casino revenue months:
- No. 1: $127 million, October 2021
- No. 2: $122.6 million, September 2021
- No. 3: $118.7 million, July 2021
- No. 4: $118 million, November 2021
- No. 5: $113.7 million, March 2021
So with just under two weeks remaining in 2021, will December be the month when the next monthly record falls? Will the result be strong enough to crack the top five?
Answers to both these questions will come next month.
2. The Big 3: Borgata, GNOG and Resorts Digital continue setting the pace
The reality of the NJ online casino market is there continues to be a clear separation between the market leaders and followers. Borgata, Golden Nugget Online Gaming and Resorts Digital – the top three license holders, respectively – remain well ahead of the others.
Looking strictly at November’s results, Borgata, led by BetMGM and its namesake online casinos, the Marina District property once again claimed the top spot with $33.7 million. And that’s a 44% increase from November 2020. However, the bigger news from the month came when a Borgata online casino customer hit for a record $3.5-million jackpot playing MGM Grand Millions.
GNOG, which includes Golden Nugget, SugarHouse, FanDuel and Betway online casinos, finished a very close second with $31.8 million.
Resorts Digital, which includes DraftKings, Barstool and the company’s namesake brand, followed in the No. 3 position with $27.9 million.
Then there is a big gap between No. 3 and 4 on the leaderboard. That fourth position currently belongs to Caesars Interactive, which includes the Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, WynnBET and WSOP brands, with $9.8 million. This is more than a 20% year-over-year increase.
While the Caesars Interactive online portfolio is expected to expand sometime in 2022 with the likes of LeoVegas, PlayUp Casino and MaximBet, the new additions will face the challenge of building their respective player databases. Remember, besides the NJ online casino market being an extremely mature one, players already have more than two dozen options available.
In other words, it seems unlikely the big three will be taking a step back anytime in the near future.
Here is a closer look at how all eight license holders performed during November:
| Licensee | Total Revenue | Slots & Tables | Poker | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bally's Atlantic City | $622,875 | $622,875 | $ - | $93,431 |
| Borgata | $33,735,211 | $33,000,462 | $734,749 | $5,080,704 |
| Caesars Atlantic City | $9,752,127 | $8,897,766 | $854,361 | $1,465,448 |
| Golden Nugget Atlantic City | $31,764,632 | $31,764,632 | $ - | $4,764,897 |
| Hard Rock Atlantic City | $4,859,460 | $4,859,460 | $ - | $728,919 |
| Ocean | $1,622,976 | $1,622,976 | $ - | $243,488 |
| Resorts Atlantic City | $27,870,533 | $27,263,118 | $607,415 | $4,155,900 |
| Tropicana Atlantic City | $7,752,284 | $7,752,284 | $ - | $1,162,843 |
| Total | $117,980,098 | $115,783,573 | $2,196,525 | $17,695,630 |
3. NJ sports betting revenue record month also helps
One of the other big November stories centers around betting revenue. The number came in at nearly $114.8 million, which is a new all-time record. To put this result in perspective, it’s 127% higher than November 2020.
While the handle of $1.26 billion is not a record, there continues to be a direct correlation of the strongest sports wagering months producing some of the best results for NJ online casinos. Think about it. Three of the top five NJ online casino revenue performances of all time have come during the current NFL season. And another came during the most recent March Madness.
Expect this successful cross-sell model to continue producing strong results for December and January. Remember the NFL regular season is now 18 weeks, which means January will have two full football weekends before any Wild Card games take place.
4. All-time NJ online casino performances are hard to ignore
No doubt about it, 2021 played a huge role in helping the NJ online casino revenue reach eye-opening levels, The lifetime chart, which dates back to November 2013, shows the industry has produced more than $3.7 billion in revenue.
GNOG still holds the No. 1 spot with just under $1.1 billion in all-time revenue. Borgata sits at No. 2 with $904 million followed by Resorts at $693.5 million. So that’s three license holders with more than a half-billion in lifetime revenue.
And come next year, it seems highly likely Caesars will join the list as its all-time number sits at $447.6 million through November.
Here is the complete list of all-time results, which includes the shuttered Trump Plaza and Trump Taj Mahal:
| Licensee | Total Revenue | Slots & Tables | Poker | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bally's Atlantic City | $198,176,450 | $198,176,450 | $0 | $29,731,542 |
| Borgata | $2,277,655,390 | $2,174,816,722 | $101,881,293 | $342,351,308 |
| Caesars Atlantic City | $682,557,860 | $574,189,786 | $108,466,108 | $102,115,584 |
| Golden Nugget Atlantic City | $2,524,770,795 | $2,524,191,665 | $124 | $377,290,031 |
| Hard Rock Atlantic City | $389,414,591 | $389,414,591 | $0 | $58,320,352 |
| Harrah's Atlantic City | $9,382,599 | $9,382,599 | $0 | $1,407,390 |
| Ocean | $167,720,134 | $167,233,238 | $0 | $25,183,471 |
| Resorts Atlantic City | $2,019,051,823 | $1,937,904,721 | $79,593,638 | $301,651,851 |
| Tropicana Atlantic City | $678,945,799 | $674,865,165 | $4,080,634 | $101,811,453 |
| Trump Taj Mahal | $6,032,943 | $5,470,434 | $562,509 | $916,330 |
| Total | $8,949,167,226 | $8,656,904,116 | $336,952,570 | $1,325,841,142 |
5. Bally’s AC NJ online casino portfolio will grow
Bally’s Atlantic City remains the newest player on the NJ online casino scene. It currently has the smallest portfolio with PointsBet Casino being the lone skin operating under its license. So the year-t0-date total of $1.3 million is barely noticeable when compared to the others.
Call it the foundation to much bigger NJ online casino plans. Bally’s is permitted to have five online casino skins under its license, and we know one of them will belong to Bally Bet. The online sportsbook version of the app is currently live in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa and Virginia.
The NJ version will include sports and casino offerings. However, at the moment, the Bally Bet website doesn’t even include a mention of “coming soon to New Jersey.” Being that New Jersey is the U.S. online leader for sports and casino, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bally Bet launch during Q1.
Then it becomes a matter of building a customer base.
The scenario will improve Bally’s online casino revenue situation. But how will it impact the overall market?
This will be a question worth reevaluating this time next year.
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