New Jersey gambling revenue hit an all-time record with Garden State operators hauling in $392.8 million over the course of the month. It’s a major achievement for the battered NJ gambling industry as it struggles to come out from under the dark cloud of the pandemic.
The bright star of New Jersey’s mega-month was the cash flow that came in from land-based casinos. After months of lockdowns and quarantines, gamblers flocked to the casinos of Atlantic City and left behind $214.5 million in revenue. Those players were particularly interest in slot machines with the one-armed bandits pulling in $154.1 million for the month. This is incredibly good news for the beleaguered casinos of Atlantic City, which have been struggling to come up with this type of win for years.
On the internet side of the business, online gambling brought in $107.1 million in revenue for Jersey operators. That’s up 26 percent over June 2020. It’s worth noting that online poker, the impetus for the New Jersey online gambling revolution, brought in just $2.2 million in revenue. That’s down 37.5 percent from this time last year.
As always, New Jersey sports betting was rock solid with $71.3 million in revenue flowing from $766.9 million in wagers. Of that total, $683 million was wagered online.
In an interview with SBCAmericas.com, Dustin Gouker, analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network commented on the sophistication of the NJ sports betting market saying, “Overall, New Jersey continues to perform far better than every other sports betting market in the US. No market can completely overcome a lack of betting inventory, but New Jersey’s sportsbooks continue to find ways to capitalize on what the sports world is offering, most notably the NBA Playoffs and baseball.”
As 2021 rolls on, it won’t be surprising to see New Jersey gambling operators breaking their own records as they emerge from the pandemic slump.