New Jersey online gambling set to grow in 2018

(PRESS RELEASE) -- New Jersey's legal online gambling industry will follow up a remarkable 2017 with more growth in 2018, albeit at more modest pace than in years previous, as the market continues to mature. "2017 Year In Review: The Performance Of New Jersey's Legal Online Casinos," a new report from NJOnlineCasino, details New Jersey's extraordinary 2017, which ended with year-over-year gross revenue growth of nearly 25%, and offers a glimpse of the year ahead.

In addition to recapping some of the important milestones the legal online gambling industry reached — including a record $245.6 million in annual gross revenue and lifetime revenue of $722.4 million — the report comes to some key conclusions based on the results of 2017. Those include:

• By injecting a quarter of a billion dollars into Atlantic City casinos, regulated online gambling clearly contributes to growth of land-based casinos, which also saw a year-over-year increase in 2017.
• New brands to the market, specifically MGM, and new games helped broaden the appeal of regulated online gambling in 2017.
• The introduction of additional brands, new games and improved payment methods will all help to lift revenue in 2018 to a new record.

"The 2017 results for New Jersey's legal online gambling industry gave us new high-water marks for the industry, which has been the rule rather than the exception since it was regulated in 2013," said Chris Grove, a gambling industry expert who authored the report for NJOnlineCasino. "More importantly, online gambling continued to buoy Atlantic City. It's clear that regulated online casino and poker sites are a maturing industry that will benefit New Jersey's economy for years to come."
A closer look at the numbers laid out in the report reveal some interesting findings:

• The growing importance of the industry to New Jersey can be seen in the tax revenue it generates. Since launch in November 2013, New Jersey's legal online gambling industry has collected $126.5 million and injected a record $42.98 million into state coffers in 2017.
• Casino games accounted for 90% of annual revenue in 2017 with $221.3 million, up 30% from 2016.
• Online poker, however, lost steam in 2017. Poker drew in $24.3 million in 2017, down 8.5% from $27.2 million in 2016.

"Despite poker's falling numbers in 2017, we expect it to stabilize in 2018," Grove said. "An interstate agreement between New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada — as well as the possible addition of Pennsylvania — will help to counterbalance New Jersey's limited online poker player pool, which is the primary force depressing revenues."

The state of New Jersey's legal online gambling industry comes into even clearer focus by looking at individual casinos.

Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa: Home to the Borgata Online Casino, partypoker New Jersey, Pala Casino and newly launched playMGM Casino online brands, it remains the lifetime leader in total gambling win since launch with $188.2 million.

• Borgata ranked No. 2 overall in 2017 with $48.5 million in revenue, No. 3 in casino games revenue with $41 million, and No. 2 for poker revenue with $7.5 million.
• Casino games grew 8.5% in 2017 compared with 2016. Poker declined 18% year-over-year.

Golden Nugget - Atlantic City: Home to the Golden Nugget Casino, Betfair - New Jersey and SugarHouse Online Casino brands, Golden Nugget Atlantic City remains second all time in total revenue with $154.9 million, but it was No. 1 for 2017 with $68.6 million.

• With no poker, casino games generate all of Golden Nugget's revenue, easily ranking No. 1 in that category.
• Its casino games revenue grew 62% from 2016.

Caesars Interactive Entertainment: Home to the CaesarsCasino.com, HarrahsCasio.com and 888 Casino New Jersey brands, Caesars Interactive ranks third all time with $147.6 million.

• Caesars ranked No. 3 overall in 2017 with $43 million in revenue, ranked No. 4 in casino games revenue with $36 million, and No. 3 in poker revenue with $7 million.
• Caesars' casino games revenue grew 20% year-over-year, while poker declined 19%.

Tropicana Atlantic City Casino & Resort: Home to the Tropicana Atlantic City Online and Virgin Casino brands, Tropicana was fourth with $135.5 million in lifetime revenue.

• Focusing entirely on casino games, it ranked No. 2 in casino games revenue with $42.6 million.
• Its casino revenue grew 15% from 2016.

Resorts AC: Home to the Resorts Casino, Mohegan Sun Casino and PokerStars New Jersey brands, Resort AC ranks No. 5 in lifetime revenue with $81.5 million and ranked No. 4 in 2017 revenue with $42.9 million.

• Resorts AC ranked No. 5 in casino games revenue with $33.2 million, but it topped the poker list at $9.8 million.
• Its revenue from casino games grew 44% year over year, while poker grew 12%.

"We expect growth to continue in 2018, with new games and improved payment options serving as the major engines behind that growth," Grove said. "But we'll also see more consumers using the sites as marketing and awareness continue to increase, and as new brands launch, helping to keep the industry fresh."

To download a free copy of the full report, visit the website.