Sports betting, newly legalized following the strike down of PASPA, has had an explosive start in New Jersey, with gross revenue from the activity hitting over $40m since the first sportsbook opened for business in June this year. In September alone, sports wagering gross revenue leaped to $24m compared with $9.2m in August.
Based upon filings with New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, total gaming revenue for September was $281.7m compared to $235.8m in September 2017, reflecting a 19.5% increase. Casino Win for September was $232m increasing 7.7% from the same month last year. Internet Gaming Win was $25.8m in September compared to $20.4m in the prior period, reflecting an increase of 26.3%.
For the year-to-date, the Industry’s Total Gaming Revenue was $2.148bn for 2018 compared to $2.039bn in 2017, reflecting an increase of 5.4%. Casino Win was $1.892bn reflecting a 2.0% increase over the prior period. Internet Gaming Win increased 17.6% to $216m for 2018.
Director Rebuck commented: “Driven by the explosive growth in sports wagering and continuing improvements in Internet gaming and brick-and-mortar casino win results, the gaming industry produced another month of superb revenue increases. The revenue results point to a strong finish for New Jersey’s gaming industry in 2018.”
From a tax perspective September 2018 generated total gaming taxes of $23m. Total gaming taxes reflect 8% of taxable casino gross revenue, 15% of Internet gaming gross revenue, 8.5% tax on casino and racetrack sports wagering gross revenue and 13% tax on casino and racetrack sports wagering Internet gross revenue.