March clearly was a huge month for New Jersey sports betting and gaming.
That became clear Friday afternoon as official monthly figures were released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE).
Sports betting revenue in the Garden State posted at more than $93 million, up an incredible 70.4% from the February revenue report ($54.62 million). It also was up 40.1% from March 2022 ($66.40 million). The $93.04M is the third-highest recorded in the state, right behind $114.79M in Nov. 2021 and $97.98M in Sept. 2022.
Total sports betting handle in the state posted at more than $1.026 billion, up a solid 21% from February ($847.41 million). But it was down by 8.5% compared to this time last year ($1.12 billion).
Handle at New Jersey sports apps registered at more than $975.18 million, a 21.7% increase from February ($801.4 million). But it, too, was also down 6.4% from March 2022 ($1.041 billion).
Mobile represented 95.1% share of the sports betting market in March, a slight 0.5% uptick from February.
March Madness certainly sparked the numbers, especially with Teaneck-based and 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson recording two victories in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, highlighted by a 63-58 upset victory over No. 1 Purdue. The win was only the second time a top seed lost to a No. 16 seed since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Also, Princeton, a 15 seed, knocked off second-seeded Arizona and seventh-seeded Missouri to make the Sweet 16.
Increases Seen in Brick-and-Mortar, iGaming
Total gaming revenue in March was at $487.4 million, up 18.2% from February ($412.2 million) and up 15.0% from March 2022 ($423.67 million).
The mobile gaming win for the month posted at more than $165.71 million, up 16.2% from February ($142.59 million) and up 17.8% from March 2022 ($140.65 million).
Of course, New Jersey is one of only a handful of states with real money online casinos, joining Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, West Virginia and Michigan.
Those states, plus Nevada, also have online poker.
Fourth Quarter Total Gaming Revenue Results Announced
On Monday, the NJDGE announced fourth quarter 2022 total gaming revenue results.
Casino licensees reported net revenue of $771.9 million, a 1% increase over the same quarter last year and reported gross operating profit of $119.3 million, marking a 31.6% decrease compared to fourth quarter 2021. For all of 2022, net revenue reached more than $3.3 billion, a 9.3% uptick from 2021, and gross operating profit came in at $731.3 million, a 4.6% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue for Atlantic City’s casino operators in the first three months of 2023 ($655.3 million) exceeded the same period in 2022 ($612.7 million) by 7.0% and 2019 ($597.1 million) by 9.7%.
“We must wait to see if these gains in gross revenue will translate into strong net revenue performance and gross operating profits when the first quarter 2023 data is released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement next month,” said Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT), at Stockton University’s School of Business, in a statement. “It will be critical to see if the operators’ hard won gross revenue gains will be able to keep up with the increasing cost of doing business.
“With the threat of New York City casinos looming, Atlantic City’s casino operators are meeting the challenge of offering a distinctive gaming product and integrated resort experience with enticing new and updated offerings for summer 2023. The state and city may have the most to gain as new and refreshed offerings call consumers back to the resort and increasing internet and sports wagering revenues generate record gaming-tax contributions.”
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