Online Casino Revenue May
By Weston Blasi
New Jersey hit a monthly record of $93.5 million in October revenue from online poker and online casinos, up 106.7% from October 2019
Statistics from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) show that online casino operators reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $85.9 million – a 124 percent surge compared with May. The home of Atlantic City has seen casinos close as its casino revenue has dropped from $5.2 million in 2006 to $2.5 million in 2015. New Jersey legalized online gambling in 2013 after the. (The Center Square) – Two weeks ago on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board ordered all the land-based casinos in the state to shut down as part of the effort to control the spread of COVID-19.
In May, a few months into the pandemic, the online gaming industry was seeing record highs in terms of overall revenue (link). As coronavirus cases have risen even higher since then, so have online casinos' revenues.
New Jersey hit a monthly record of $93.5 million in October revenue from online poker and online casinos, up 106.7% from October 2019. Pennsylvania saw its online casinos and poker rooms generate a record $59.8 million in gross operator revenue for October, a record for the keystone state.
Pennsylvania Casino Revenue
New Jersey and Pennsylvania -- along with Nevada -- are two states that typically have the most online gaming revenue (link) and are generally good indicators for the industry.
'On a purely business level, it strengthened our business. Our business has really thrived,' Max Bichsel, VP of U.S. Business at Gambling.com, told MarketWatch. 'We had more people focused on online casinos. The online business grew substantially throughout Q2 and Q3 to a new level.'
Gambling.com connects bettors with online gambling companies.
While no major professional and college sports were being played from March to May, the industry saw a big jump in its total players.
New Jersey Online Casino Revenue
Bichsel claims players who might normally bet on sports would play 'a couple hands of blackjack or sprint the roulette wheel a few times' during the summer sports hiatus (link).
But now that sports are back, bettors are not choosing to either bet on sports or play online poker -- they are doing both.
'You're back to pre-pandemic levels with sports, coupled with the increase in online casino activity. It's hard to think in retrospect what would have happened without a pandemic, but as the situation stands today it's pretty positive for the industry,' Bichsel said.
Many in-person commercial casinos haven't fared as well.
The U.S. casino industry recently sought relief from the government after states lost more than $2 billion in lost tax revenue (link) in the four months they were shut down due to the pandemic. One of the destination-focused areas that rely heavily on commercial property revenue is the famous Strip in Las Vegas -- Strip properties' gross gaming revenue declined by 30% year over year to $375.8 million, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (link).
But companies that specialize in regional casinos are more equipped to deal with the pandemic. Places like Penn National (PENN) and Caesars (CZR) who operate local casinos with high visitor retention rates are more likely to do well.
'Destination-focused casinos are in a little bit of a more difficult position. You take AC (Atlantic City) or Nevada vs more regional-based casinos. I'm talking about places like Chicago or Philly that aren't major attractions for gaming specifically -- those places will continue to thrive,' Bichsel said.
And Bichsel says the boom in online activity won't necessarily hurt all retail casinos in the long run.
'I don't think there's a correlation between casinos being open and online gaming being less. There's definitely overlap between the same players. Based on what we have seen in the past when players did have the opportunity to go to a physical casino or play from the comfort of their own home, they are not directly tied to each other. They are separated in most cases.'
The trend toward online poker likely won't change in the coming months as the weather starts to get colder.
'Cooler weather unquestionably benefits online gaming,' Valerie Cross, an analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com, told MarketWatch in an email. 'And that should be even more pronounced this year because of the pandemic.'
-Weston Blasi; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-07-20 0920ET
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.The New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcementreleased the May 2019 revenue numbers for the state’s gambling industry earlier this week. They told a prevalent story, namely that some operators are flourishing, but others are struggling to even stay above water.
Casino Revenue By State
FanDuel flies high for New Jersey revenue
Concerning sportsbooks in New Jersey, there is one clear winner. The FanDuel Sportsbook at Meadowlands led both online and retail sports betting by a wide margin.
In fact, FanDuel’s haul of nearly $7.9 million for the month accounted for roughly half the total revenue on sports betting, retail and online combined. Its roughly $800,000 in revenue for retail eclipsed its nearest competitor by more than a quarter of a million dollars.
FanDuel (and Meadowlands) unmistakably benefits from its location in the extreme northern portion of New Jersey. The track is a short drive across the bridge from New York City and, no doubt, it derives much of its customer base from the Big Apple.
One thing to watch is how New Yorkers respond to the newly active sports betting in their state. About a week ago, lawmakers completed their rules for wagering on sports at the state’s four commercial casinos.
For right now, FanDuel should remain on top, since New York‘s rules do not provide for online play. However, it is not hard to forecast that the book has a test of customer loyalty looming in its future.
Other key New Jersey sports betting revenue notes
The other company that tasted notable success last month was FanDuel’s rival, DraftKings (and its partner, Resorts AC). The former market leader still managed to hold $4.1 million in online sport betting revenues during the month.
Unfortunately, part of that performance will have to compensate for a net loss on the retail side of the business.
Worse, the retail portion of Resorts’ sports betting operation was not the only facility to experience losses for the month.
Ocean Resort Casino also finished in the red, with losses exceeding $21,000.
Thankfully, Ocean Resort’s online business had a very respectable May. So, overall, the casino’s sportsbook is still making cash for the property.
Still, one clear outcome is that online sports betting continues to expand its grip on the market. In New Jersey, 82.6% of the total dollars wagered on sports are wagered online.
New Jersey online casino revenue
For online casino play, the only concern is to find out what Golden Nuggetis doing. Golden Nugget continues to dominate the online casino market in New Jersey.
At this point, the online arm of the Marina District casino makes nearly twice its nearest competitor in terms of hold. Golden Nugget eased over the $14 million mark this month.
It’s not even a matter of competition with other online sites, really. Golden Nugget is nearly running evenly with some of the land-based casinos, and one of those casinos is the Golden Nugget itself.