Ethermac|Plain old bad luck? New Jersey sports betting revenue fell 24% in June from a year ago

ATLANTIC CITY,Ethermac N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s robust sports betting industry saw a big decline in June, with revenue down nearly 24% from a year earlier in what some casino executives and observers chalked up to plain old bad luck.

Overall in June, combined revenue from sports betting, internet gambling and in-person casino games was up 7.4%, to more than $491 million, according to statistics released Tuesday by state gambling regulators.

New Jersey was the state whose court challenge to a federal ban on sports betting in most of the country resulted in a 2018 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court clearing the way for any state that wants it to offer legal sports betting.

Since then, New Jersey has been among the nationwide leaders in sports betting revenue.

But in June, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, sports betting generated $27.1 million in revenue after winning bets and other expenses were paid out on total wagers of $748 million.

That was down 23.9% from June 2023, an unusually large drop-off for a state accustomed to seeing sports betting revenue go in one direction — straight up.

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“At first glance, a decline of nearly 24% in sports betting revenue for Atlantic City’s casino operators is a bit surprising given recent positive performance from that sector,” said Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, which studies the Atlantic City gambling market.

But she noted that not all the casinos or racetracks saw declines, adding that the total amount wagered during the month was actually a bit higher than average for June.

“It seems likely that the decline in sports betting revenue this June is a function of odds set by the oddsmakers, the bets made by the public, and the outcomes of live events,” she said. “At the end of the day there will always be some variability by nature in gambling activity.”

Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts Casino and of the Casino Association of New Jersey, was among industry officials attributing the decline in sports betting revenue to “mainly poor luck” in June.

Resorts Digital, his casino’s online arm affiliated with the DraftKings sportsbook, was down 43.3% in June, to $14.3 million in sports betting revenue. The physical Resorts casino saw its sports betting revenue decline by 34% to just over $99,000.

The Ocean Casino swung from $82,000 in sports betting revenue last June to a loss of $18,725 this June.

And Monmouth Park Racetrack, near the Jersey Shore in Oceanport, saw a 37% decline in sports betting, to $904,000.

Other casinos saw better-than-expected sports betting revenue in June, including Bally’s, which took in almost $1.9 million, up from $351,000 a year earlier, an increase of over 440%. Hard Rock nearly doubled its sports betting revenue in June, to $4.6 million.

In terms of overall gambling revenue, Borgata won $110 million, up 5.7%; Golden Nugget won $64.2 million, up nearly 20%; Hard Rock won $63.7 million, up 24.4%; Ocean won $39.6 million, down 0.4%; Tropicana won $38.5 million, up 30.7%; Bally’s won $24.6 million, up over 27%; Caesars won $19.2 million, down over 11%; Harrah’s won $19.1 million, down 8.8%, and Resorts won $15 million, down 2.3%.

But those figures include internet and sports betting money, much of which must be shared with parties including sports books and technology platforms, and is not solely for the casinos to keep.

For that reason, the casinos consider money won from in-person gamblers to be their core business. Only two casinos — Ocean, and Hard Rock — won more from in-person gamblers this June than they did in June 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit. This remains a source of continuing concern for Atlantic City’s casinos and their parent companies.

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