The legalization of sports betting in New Jersey has opened up more doors for the state’s online casino industry.
Many of the New Jersey sportsbooks also have online casinos that allow players to place real money wagers on virtual slots, table games and live dealer games. Because of this, Atlantic City casinos and their web affiliates raked in $433 million in online casino venue for the first 11 months of 2019.
According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, that figure could be as high as $460 million when December numbers are factored into the equation. That would mark a 66% increase from 2018, when online gaming delivered $277 million in revenue.
Chris Grove, who is an industry analyst and partner at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, believes that even if sports betting were not legal in New Jersey, the revenues for NJ online casinos would still have increased by 20%.
“The market was set up to be incredibly competitive, and that competition is successfully producing a product that’s engaging consumers,” Grove said.
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Since sports betting was legalized in the Garden State in June of 2018, the revenue per month from the state’s internet casinos has more than doubled. This shows that New Jersey’s decision to regulate online gaming and wagering has spurred significant growth.
The New Jersey casinos that have seen the biggest growth in online casino revenue are Golden Nugget LLC and Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. The digital arms of Resorts Casino Hotel and Caesars Entertainment have also seen solid growth in that area.
Still, lawmakers across the United States are more favorable to sports betting than online casino gaming. This is the case even though states would have significant tax revenue if online casino gaming were legal.
There are only six states in the US where online casino gambling is legal. Michigan was the last to add that, having legalized both sports betting and online gaming in December 2019.
Sports betting became legal on a state-by-state basis in May of 2018 when the US Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which prohibited wagering on sporting events in all but four states. There are now 20 states – as well as Washington DC – that have legal sports betting.