FanDuel Casino and DraftKings Casino once again reigned supreme in New Jersey’s online casino gaming wars as they combined to dominate all others in April 2024’s market share.
Raking In the Money
April 2024 was the fifth straight month in which online casino revenues in the Garden State broke the $180 million threshold. Online casino operators generated nearly $187.3 million for the month which was an increase of 18.2% compared to April 2023. Moreover, the first four months of 2024 are up 21.1% from the same time last year.
These statistics were reported by the According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) which only last month began revealing how much revenue was generated by individual operators instead of simply giving combined revenues.
“Atlantic City’s total gaming revenue achieved its best April result in over a decade – aided by the second-best monthly internet gaming win on record,” wrote Casino Control Commission Chairman James Plousis in April’s report. “The casinos’ total gaming revenue has surpassed $400 million every month this year and internet gaming in has eclipsed $750 million sooner than any other year since inception.”
In-Person Gaming Down
Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality, and Tourism (LIGHT), Stockton University School of Business noted that the in-person casino gambling was down despite the online casino sector increasing. That is not an ideal equation for the casino operators as they rely primarily on retail customers patronizing their casinos while iGaming is a helpful but ancillary income.
“April 2024 was a modest month for Atlantic City casino operators as total gross gaming revenues for the month increased year-over-year, but not month-over-month,” said Bokunewicz. “These returns were driven entirely by a near-record GGR from internet gaming ($10 million shy of last month’s record of $197.2 million).”
The revenues generated by the state’s five online casino operators do not take into consideration the percentage they share with their land-based casino partners and their fair share of taxes paid to the state. Mobile betting operators do not disclose the percentage amount they pay to whichever Boardwalk casino they are partnered with, but we do know iGaming is taxed at 15% of gross revenue plus another 2.5% to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.
The Top 5
Below are April’s gross iGaming revenues and market share for the top five online casino apps in New Jersey.
- DraftKings Casino: $39.2 million, 20.9%
- FanDuel Casino: $39.1 million, 20.8%
- BetMGM Casino: $22.9 million, 12.2%
- Borgata Online: $17.3 million, 9.2%
- Caesars Palace: $11.4 million, 6%
The above are five of the 30 online casinos authorized and approved by the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement. The online casino industry continues to gain traction but some fear it could be at the peril of the land-based casinos that line the Boardwalk of Atlantic City.
However, many industry pundits believe the future is bright for the nine brick-and-mortar properties in the Garden State, with Jane Bokunewicz stating, “While stakeholders should expect to see gains in the brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue over the coming months because of typical seasonal increases in visitation to the city, Atlantic City may actually see greater gains in in-person revenue generated for nongaming operations. It will be many months before a clear picture of this trend is available, but operators’ recent investments in improving resort offerings suggest that a significant shift in the market’s overall revenue mix could be coming.”
