The rise of online gambling in New Jersey continues, as demonstrated by the recent revenue results. The vertical continues to be a major tax contributor and, according to a PlayNJ report, has surpassed the taxes produced by the nine Atlantic City casinos for the last three years.
For example, data from the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement shows that the state’s online casino contributed $249.4 million in taxes to the Casino Revenue Fund in 2022. AC’s nine casinos, meanwhile, paid only $179.1 million.
Online sports betting continues to lag behind the competing verticals, producing $93.9 million in tax revenue. Retail sportsbooks are even further behind, having produced only $4 million in tax revenue during the same period.
The period between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, saw New Jersey’s gambling industry inject $504 million into the Casino Revenue Fund, with online casino operators attributing $266.7 million to that total number.
The Lockdowns Solidified iGaming’s Dominance
The shift toward online gaming was significantly bolstered by the COVID lockdowns. However, the trend carried on in the post-pandemic period, solidifying iGaming as the new leading vertical in the Garden State.
While the pandemic prompted the explosive growth of online casino gaming, it wasn’t singlehandedly responsible for the current trends. Data shows that the taxes produced by New Jersey’s online casino operators have, in fact, been increasing every year since the launch of iGaming in the state back in 2013.
Online casino taxes officially surpassed those produced by AC’s nine brick-and-mortar casinos in FY 2020/2021, officially cementing the online vertical’s dominance over the local market. For reference, the previous year saw online casino contribute $103.3 million in taxes, amounting for 40.5% of all gambling taxes that entered the Casino Revenue Fund. This number increased the in the fiscal year from July 2020 to June 2021 when NJ’s online casinos contributed $177.4 million to taxes, or 49.5% of the total tax revenue sent to the CRF.
The fiscal year results paint roughly the same picture as the calendar year ones.
In the meantime, New Jersey is currently busy tackling high-risk gambling as the local regulator seeks to prioritize sustainability. To that end, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement just commissioned Rutgers University to compile a report on high-risk gambling in the state.
Fortunately, the problem gambling rates seem to be on the decline but the overall number remains higher than the national average, showing that there is a lot more to be done.