New Jersey Casino Revenue Surges Across the Board in May

New Jersey online casinos continued their dominance, but brick-and-mortar venues finally got their moment in the sun, with help from Memorial Day and some beach-worthy weather.

Would it even be a New Jersey monthly revenue report if we weren’t telling you about another month of nearly 30% gains in the online segment? But this time, we’re happy to report that it wasn’t just the internet casinos cashing in.

Brick-and-mortar venues on the Boardwalk finally saw double-digit growth, too. Even New Jersey’s long-suffering sportsbooks, battered by months of bad beats during the NFL and college basketball seasons, seem to be pulling out of their slump.

Let’s start with another banner month for online gaming. New Jersey online casinos generated more than $246 million in revenue, up from $192 million a year ago. FanDuel Casino led the pack with over $52 million, representing a 36% year-over-year gain. DraftKings Casino came in a close second with $48 million, though their growth was a more modest 14%. BetMGM Casino trailed the perennial leaders with $32 million but posted a 42% YOY gain, continuing to chip away at the gap.

The numbers represented only a modest increase from March, when online casinos generated $244 million, or even April, when online casinos saw revenue of $235 million.

While $246 million is impressive by any standards, the last few months have seen a flattening of what had been a rapidly rising growth trajectory, with not only 30% gains year over year but also some double-digit gains from one month to the next.

Meanwhile, New Jersey sportsbooks bounced back with $102 million in revenue, $98 million of which came from online wagers. That’s a 30% overall improvement, with online sportsbooks up 26% YOY. But the real story here is the $3.5 million wagered at retail sportsbooks, which was up a staggering 326% from the same time last year. That retail boost was also reflected in the broader land-based casino numbers.

For the first time in many months, revenue from the nine casinos in Atlantic City actually surpassed that of the online segment. Total revenue was a very robust $265 million.

Yes, May was the perfect setup for land-based casinos with not only five Fridays and Saturdays but also the long Memorial Day holiday mixed in. And yes, New Jersey had unseasonably warm beach weather for the month, but that shouldn’t take away from a month that was the best May for the beleaguered industry in more than a decade.

The Borgata led the charge, notching $73 million in slot and table game revenues, a 19% YOY increase. Hard Rock held its second-place standing with $52 million, a 4% gain, while Ocean Casino Resort made the biggest leap: $42 million in revenue, up 32% over last May.

The rest of the pack struggled to clear $20 million. Golden Nugget and Bally’s barely broke $10 million, with $11.9M and $11.8M, respectively. Not every property shared in May’s momentum; Tropicana was down 2%, Bally’s fell 4%, and Golden Nugget posted a steep 11% drop.

It may have taken a holiday weekend, beach weather, and five full Fridays and Saturdays to get there, but May proved Atlantic City still has some fight left in it.

The question now is whether cheap gas and sunshine will keep visitors coming down the shore all summer or if online casinos will continue to draw more attention.