New Jersey sports betting operators have shown evidence that player-friendly NFL results are affecting performance. Major carriers highlighted this as a risk to fourth-quarter revenue in their third-quarter results.
Total gaming revenue in the US state across all channels and verticals was $499.8m (£394.4m/€472.5m) in October. This surpasses last year’s monthly total of US$487.1 million, but is 10.5% below the US$558.3 million recorded in September this year.
Licensees paid US$55 million in taxes in the month, with online games once again being the main contributors. The segment contributed US$31.9 million to this total with a 15% rate on gross revenue.
Land-based casinos (taxed at 8% of Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) added another US$13 million, with US$9.9 million and US$194,771 coming from online sports betting (13% tax) and retail (8.5%), respectively.
Igaming revenue exceeds that of land-based casinos in New Jersey
Data from the New Jersey Division of iGaming Enforcement again highlights igaming as the top segment in October. During the month, gaming revenue for the vertical rose 28.1% year over year to $213.6 million. This exceeds September’s existing record of US$208.1 million by 2.8%.
iGaming revenue, including slots and online tables, increased 28.5% to $211.3 million. However, poker revenue fell 1.0% to $2.3 million. The increase means igaming was the top source of gaming revenue in New Jersey in October, surpassing the $208.7 million generated by land-based casinos.
FanDuel ranked first in the igaming sector with $48.3 million in revenue. The Flutter-owned operator is a partner with Golden Nugget Atlantic City in New Jersey.
Resorts Casino Hotel partner DraftKings fell to second place with $45.6 million in gaming revenue. Borgata partner BetMGM remained in third place with $25.5 million in total revenue.
Golden Nugget led the master licensees with $67.1 million in total igaming revenue for the month. In addition to FanDuel, the operator also has partnerships with BetRivers, Betway, Jackpot City and DraftKings’ Golden Nugget Online Gaming.
In contrast to the growth of igaming, revenue from physical slot machines fell 1.9% to $159.9 million. Revenue from physical table games fell 25% to $48.8 million.
New Jersey sports betting revenue fell 16%
However, despite the continued growth of igaming, the situation was quite different in the sports betting segment. Revenue here reached US$77.5 million, a drop of 16% compared to the previous year and 35.2% compared to September.
The decline came amid a 12.5% decrease in player spending, which dropped from $1.29 billion last year to $1.12 billion. This value, however, was 37% higher than the US$ 1.13 billion bet in September. Online spending totaled US$1.09 billion and retail spending US$43.8 million.
Thus, New Jersey’s statewide retention in October was 6.85%, in contrast to September’s 11.28%. That’s in line with DraftKings‘ third-quarter report, which warns that players’ NFL wins affected performance in October.
This forced the carrier to cut its full-year revenue and earnings forecasts. Flutter parent FanDuel, on the other hand, highlighted its pricing accuracy as a key factor in mitigating a similar impact on revenue and earnings.
FanDuel is still the best in the sports betting market
Looking at operator performance, FanDuel, in partnership with Meadowlands Racetrack, led the way with $34.8 million in revenue. Having received $380.3 million in bets, that left a stake of 9.15%.
DraftKings and partner Resorts Casino Hotel remained in second place with $22.2 million of $237.7 million. This means that its 9.34% stake actually marginally surpassed that of FanDuel.
BetMGM and Borgata came in third with $7.3 million out of $55.2 million, meaning a 13.22% retention. Pricing and product improvements have been the watchword for the MGM-Entain joint venture ahead of the start of the NFL season.
Bet365 is now in fourth place. Players bet $35.0 million through their app, with a 10.46% stake, leaving $3.7 million in revenue.
Caesars Interactive and Monmouth Park came next, with revenue of $3.1 million and turnover of $25.7 million, leaving a retention of 12.06%. Bet Rivers, another Monmouth partner, received $930,826 of the $9.2 million, representing a 10.16% share.
Other operators include Bally’s partner Fanatics, with US$1.6 million in revenue and turnover of US$14.0 million, representing an 11.43% share. Close behind in terms of revenue was ESPN Bet, another Resorts partner, with $1.6 million of $6.8 million – an impressive 23.53% share.
Accumulated revenue for the year reaches US$5.22 billion
However, the news wasn’t so good for Hard Rock Bet. Through its partnership with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City, it generated a loss of US$1.0 million on a turnover of US$7.0 million.
As for year-to-date performance, total New Jersey market revenue for the 10 months through the end of October was $5.22 billion. This represents an increase of 9.3% compared to US$4.77 billion in the same period in 2023.
Much of this increase is due to the growth of igaming, with revenue in that market increasing 23.7% to US$1.95 billion. Land-based casinos were the main source of revenue for the year as a whole, but revenue here was 1.6% lower, coming in at $2.36 billion.
Despite the drop in October, year-to-date sports betting revenue increased 13.9% to $912.8 million. Player spending on sports betting was 14.0% higher, reaching $10.33 billion during the 10-month period.
This generated $560.7 million in taxes for New Jersey in 10 months. Once again, online casinos accounted for the largest share at $292.0 million. Casinos paid $151.0 million to the state, with $115.3 million coming from online sports betting. The contribution from retail betting was just $2.5 million.
