New Jersey remains a national leader in gambling because of Atlantic City. And 2023 industry data shows this is as true today as it was 45 years ago.
However, a report from the American Gaming Association highlights how much the US gambling landscape has shifted in recent years as more states embrace digital betting options.
And perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the Garden State, where NJ online casinos and internet sports betting in New Jersey now account for 49.9% of statewide total gaming revenue.
National gambling trending upward, AGA says
According to the AGA’s commercial gaming revenue tracker, the US gambling industry generated $66.52 billion in 2023, a 10% increase over the previous annual record set in 2022. The AGA, the industry’s largest trade organization, says 2023 is the third consecutive year that revenue from commercial gambling has rewritten the record books.
Despite iGaming only being available in six states, the segment’s $6.17 billion in annual revenue accounted for more than 9% of the national total.
Each legal online casino market set new annual revenue records, with year-over-year earnings increasing between 3.3% (Delaware) and 44.7% (Connecticut’s second full year).
Sports gambling, now legal in 38 states and Washington DC, generated just under $11 billion in revenue in 2023, a YoY increase of nearly 45%. The AGA says Americans legally wagered more than $119.84 billion on sports last year, almost 28% more than the year before.
Atlantic City casinos, NJ online casinos, NJ sports betting all going up
New Jersey accounted for roughly 8.7% of the total gambling revenue reported by all US commercial gaming entities in 2023 and set a few records of its own.
Total gaming revenue — the sum of land-based casinos, online gambling and sports betting — generated more than $5.77 billion in 2023, according to the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement. It is the highest single-year total ever reported since NJ legalized casinos in 1978.
Last year’s $1.92 billion in revenue from online casinos and the $962.4 million in online sports betting revenue are both all-time highs in NJ.
Sports gamblers wagered nearly $12 billion with NJ sportsbooks in 2023, the most in state history. NJ only trails New York in terms of sports betting revenue and handle (the total amount wagered) in 2023.
Land-based revenue reported by Atlantic City casinos exceeded $2.84 billion last year. Retail sportsbooks at the casinos and racetracks generated $44.1 million.
Three of Atlantic City’s nine casinos — Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa (No. 4), Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (No. 12) and Ocean Casino Resort (No. 14) — are among the country’s highest-grossing properties outside Nevada.
