New Jersey gambling already earning millions more: report

Sports betting was only legalized in New Jersey on June 11 but the state is already reporting significant gains from New Jersey gambling in its gaming and casino industries, the state Division of Gaming Enforcement said in a new report released Thursday.

It’s another concrete sign that the widely predicted boom in Atlantic City, where two new casinos opened on June 28, is taking hold and bringing new New Jersey Gambling dollars to the Garden State.

“While it’s still early, we’re obviously off to a great start,” said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US, the sports book betting company which has already opened two books in New Jersey, one at Monmouth Park Racetrack’s Long Branch and one at Ocean Resort Casino, which opened in a 7,500-square foot facility on June 28. 

Compared to this month last year, total New Jersey Gambling gaming revenue Jersey was $233.6 million, a 7.3 percent increase over $217.7 million in June 2017, according to the Division of Gaming Enforcement’s report released on July 12. Total casino win was $207.5 million, a 5.1 percent increase over June 2017. 

“We always knew there was a big appetite for legal sports betting during the years of litigation, and now it is being proven,” said Asher, who added that he expects revenues to keep rising and creating new jobs in the Garden State. “We are proud to be creating new jobs in New Jersey and bringing excitement to our customers.” 

Room for growth in New Jersey Gambling

Given that most major casinos’ sports books only opened partway through June, the reported growth could be a mere taste of things to come since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized sports betting on May 14.

Monmouth Park and the Borgata started taking sports wagers on June 14. Ocean Resort and Hard Rock both started “limited soft play” on June 25, but Ocean Resort opened its sports book on June 28, while Hard Rock began offering online gambling as of June 28.

The report also noted that year-to-date, both gambling revenue and casino win was down two to four percent lower than this time last year, at just $1.261 billion and $1.118 billion, respectively. Internet gaming wins, on the other hand, was up 14.9 percent, at $139.5 million in 2018.

And things may be growing even faster for Jersey in the near future as sports gambling takes off with new sports, Asher noted.

“We can’t wait until football season,” he said.