NJ’s October 2015 iGaming Revenues The Second Highest To Date

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Monday, November 16th, 2015 | Written by Charles Washington

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) has released its gambling results for October, with the state reaching its second highest online gambling revenues to date of $12,863,935. That figure represents a whooping 35.6% increase over the $9,484,932 that was collected in October 2014. Meanwhile, the Garden State’s eight casinos generated $191.6 million in revenues, which combined with its online business, produced a total of $204.5 million for the state, representing a 1.3% decrease on the $207.2 million that was collected for the same month last year. The slight contraction in gambling revenues has largely been attributed to the summer season coming to a close.

iPoker Down 2.8% to $1.913m

In October, New Jersey collected $1,913,403 from its online poker market, with this vertical now accounting for 14.9% of overall internet revenues. While revenues were 7.4% higher than the $1.771 million collected in September, the total was still lower by 2.8% from last year’s figure of $1.967 million. Almost a year ago, New Jersey could mostly count on internet poker revenues breaking the $2 million mark, but iPoker has been unable to reach that figure for seven consecutive months now.

New Jersey has two operators offering online poker, and in October Borgata (PartyPoker/Pala Interactive) accounted for $1,079,478 of revenues, with Caesars Interactive NJ (888/WSOP) the remaining $833,925. That balance is set to change, however, after the world’s largest iPoker operator, PokerStars, was granted a license to operate in New Jersey by the DGE on September 30th. Nevertheless, PokerStars and its sister site Full Tilt is not expected to launch until the first half of 2016, with the delay due to customer account issues stemming from Black-Friday. PokerStars is obliged to refund any outstanding money left in player accounts prior to its expulsion from the US market in 2011, and as a PokerStars letter explained to its balance holders recently:

“Under New Jersey’s Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, we are required to make a diligent attempt to renew contact.. If contact is not renewed by December 28, 2015, we are required by law to transfer these funds to the custody of the State of New Jersey,” the letter concludes. The total outstanding balance is $428,000.”

iCasinos Hit Record Revenues

While iPoker continues to wane, online casino games continue to soar in popularity, and last month generated $10,950,532 in revenues, now representing 85.1% of total internet earnings. Revenues were also higher by 6.3% year-over-year, with October 2015’s total the largest yet produced by the state, beating the previous high set in March of this year of $10,937,994.

iGaming Revenues 2nd Highest to Date

In October, online poker and casinos combined produced $12,863,935 in revenues, marking their second highest tally to date behind March 2015. Leading New Jersey’s market overall was the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa’s with $3.5 million in revenues, of which $2.4m was derived from its online casino games, and the remaining $1.1m from poker. The state’s only other poker and casino operation, Caesars Interactive Entertainment, earned $2.9 million last month, with $2.07m from online casinos, and $833k from poker. Meanwhile, leading New Jersey’s casino-only sites was the Tropicana with $2.85m in revenues, followed by the Golden Nugget ($2.7m), and lastly Resorts Digital Gaming ($900k).

Land Casinos Fall by 3.1%

New Jersey‘s eight land-based casinos reported a 3.1% fall in revenues to $191.6 million in October, not including iGaming results. From that tally, slot machines accounted for $141.1 million in revenues, with table games accounting for the remaining $50.5 million.

Including their online operations, half of the state’s eight casinos saw year-over-year revenue declines, lead by Caesars down 25.2% to $22.6 million, from the $30.2 million posted for the same month in 2014. Next, Trump Taj Mahal reported an 18.7% contraction in growth to $13.6 million, followed by Harrah’s down 9.8% to $29.1 million, then Bally’s down 2.6% to $17 million, from October last year.

On the plus side, Resorts saw its revenues surge to $14.8 million, 21% higher than the $12.2 million collected in October 2014, followed by Caesars Interactive New Jersey, up 18% to $2.9 million, from the $2.5 million generated a year ago. Also reporting year-over-year revenue growth was the Golden Nugget up 10.6% to $17.7 million, and the Tropicana up 4.4% to $24.6 million.

So far this year, New Jersey’s gambling venues have collected $2.2 billion in revenues, a 3.5% improvement on the same period of time in 2014. Back then, however, the state had a total of twelve casinos. When the four casinos that have shut are included in the comparison, New Jersey’s gambling revenues are actually 7.7% lower year-on-year.