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ew Jersey’s sportsbooks used the return of major sports to catapult to the best month in the history of any legal jurisdiction. And in generating nearly $670 million in August wagers, New Jersey surpassed $8 billion in sports bets since launching in June 2018 and again staked its position as the largest and most dependable U.S. market, according to PlayNJ. See the full report here
“Recovery is underway, even with continuing travel advisories that decreased visits from out of state,” said James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. “Atlantic City’s casino win was almost 70 percent of last August’s strong performance, although the months are not reasonably comparable because of restrictions on capacity, amenities, and entertainment.”
He also noted that indoor dining was allowed to resume on Sept. 4, a development which will presumably be felt in next month’s revenue report.
The biggest news was a record-setting performance by New Jersey’s sports betting industry. In addition to surpassing Nevada’s previous high, the $668 million wagered on sports in August surpassed the previous New Jersey record of $562 million set in Nov. 2019.
After paying off winning bets, the casinos and tracks reported $39.5 million in revenue on sports bets in August. It was the first full month of baseball this year, and gamblers also had hockey and basketball playoffs to bet on.
Internet gambling brought in $87.7 million, more than twice what it had a year earlier.
Only two casinos, Ocean Resort and the Golden Nugget, managed to post year-over-year revenue increases. Ocean was up 3.7% to $26.6 million, and Golden Nugget was up 2.5% to $37 million.
“Our year-over-year gaming revenue increase is a testament to the momentum Ocean created prior to the closure, which immediately resumed upon reopening in July,” Terry Glebocki, Ocean’s CEO, said in a statement. “We are pleased with our August performance despite a less favorable calendar, ongoing restrictions on occupancy and the lack of indoor dining until early September.”
Caesars had the biggest decline, down 31.4% to $21.2 million, followed closely by its sister property Harrah’s, down a nearly identical 31.3% to $21.4 million. Resorts was down 28.8% to $13.8 million; Tropicana was down 26.5% to $26.5 million; Bally’s was down 21.3% to $15.2 million; Borgata was down 19% to $64.7 million; and Hard Rock was down 3.5% to $39.4 million. See report here
Two internet-only entities did well in August. Resorts Digital was up over 97% to $27.9 million, and Caesars Interactive NJ was up almost 87% to $9.2 million.
Among racetracks, the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, just outside New York City, took in $21.1 million in sports betting revenue compared with $11.8 million a year earlier, and Monmouth Park in Oceanport near the Jersey Shore, took in $1.8 million compared to $2 million a year earlier.
See the full report here
