The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported the final gambling revenue numbers for 2019 this week, and the yearly numbers were all positive.
Commercial casino gaming was up 7% for the year, while internet gaming was up 61.6%. And with 2019 the first year with sports betting revenue, it put all New Jersey gaming revenue up 19.5% from 2018.
The monthly numbers for December alone were mixed. Overall, it was the same story as most months: internet casino games up and online poker down. From month to month, however, it was the opposite. Online poker grew slightly from November to December, and casino games dropped slightly.
For the most part, the year finished much as the year progressed, with good news for the state, good news for internet gaming, and online poker still on the decline.
Let’s take a look at the numbers.
December Online Poker Revenue
From November to December, online poker revenue actually increased, though the year-on-year numbers were down, as has become the norm.
--December 2019 online poker win: $1,734,814--November 2019 online poker win: $1,492,494--December 2018 online poker win: $1,764,562--Month-on-month: 16.2% increase--Year-on-year: 1.7% decrease
December Online Casino Games Revenue
While the revenue for online table games and slots was down slightly from November, it still managed another very impressive year-on-year increase.
--December 2019 online casino games win: $47,593,143--November 2019 online casino games win: $47,645,412--December 2018 online casino games win: $27,243,703--Month-on-month: 0.1% decrease--Year-on-year: 74.7% increase
Total Internet Gaming Win for December 2019
The monthly increase was tiny but the yearly one substantial, the latter being no surprise.
--December 2019 total internet gaming win: $49,327,957--November 2019 total internet gaming win: $49,137,906--December 2018 total internet gaming win: $29,008,265--Month-on-month: 0.4% increase--Year-on-year: 70% increase
Full-Year 2019 Online Poker Numbers
Not many people would call $20 million in revenue a bad year, as it is more than the New Jersey market would have if not for online poker.
With that said, this is the point at which online poker operators must look at their business plans and figure out how to attract new players. The decrease for the year isn’t overwhelming, but after this many years in the market, there should be someone at one of the companies with a game plan.
--2019 total online poker win: $20,934,966--2018 total online poker win: $21,393,296--Year-on-year: 2.1% decrease
Full-Year 2019 Online Casino Numbers
The outstanding piece of information from the end-of-year numbers is the sharp growth of the online casino realm in 2019. It is more than a little noticeable.
At the end of 2018, the growth of this segment of internet gaming came in at 25.3%. This year, that rate almost doubled.
--2019 total online casino games win: $461,760,342--2018 total online casino games win: $277,307,607--Year-on-year: 66.5% increase
Putting Internet Gaming Together in 2019
To combine online casino games and poker, it shows that this sector of New Jersey gaming is on a seriously upward trajectory. The poker decrease is more than covered by the casino games.
--2019 total internet gaming win: $482,695,308--2018 total internet gaming win: $298,700,903Year-on-year: 61.6% increase
Sports Betting Slowing Slightly
The sports betting market fluctuates based upon the season and the sports available for betting. There was a downswing from November to December, but the yearly increase is a more telling number. The industry is barely through its first year and still finding its footing.
The commercial casinos in New Jersey have been improving revenue fairly steadily, but at times when the growth is not there, internet gaming and sports betting prop up the industry to show a positive. For example, land-based casinos showed a 0.2% decrease for the year, but put together with other forms of gambling, the win growth rate was 19.5%.
This growth is also notable because the previous year’s growth was only 9.2%.
When all parts of the industry work together, the state wins.
--2019 total gaming revenue: $3,468,633,795--2018 total gaming revenue: $2,903,477,507--Year-on-year growth: 19.5%
