With the pandemic effectively devastating once-thriving brick and mortar gambling markets such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, regulated online gaming has grown to become the saving grace for numerous localities that rely on gambling revenue to survive.
New Jersey’s regulated online gaming market continued to soar in June, setting new records as many Atlantic City casinos continued to resume operations. The regulated online gaming market is thriving while sports betting take a hit as a result of the blank calendar of sports events.
Figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement indicate that state-licensed online gambling revenue peaked at nearly $86m in May, which was a 124.1% upsurge over the same month last year. It also unsurprisingly surpassed the gambling market’s previous record of $80m that was recorded in April 2020.
During all three full months of casino closures as directed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D), the months of April, May, as well as June, July recorded a total decline in revenue of more than 65% as covered here.
Online casino games such as poker helped to cushion the blow. But thanks to the revenue generated from regulated online gaming which continued to grow in the months of the casino shutdown, the decline was a lot easier to tolerate.
Regulated online gaming has been growing for some time now
Over the past several years, the Garden State’s online gambling industry has experienced continued growth. Only a few states offer online casino gaming options including Delaware, Nevada, Pennsylvania. However, in the meantime, New Jersey stands as king over them all, a position that it has managed to hold since online gaming became a reality in 2013.
Not only does New Jersey offer a full range of casino games to betters. Its much larger and more vibrant population offers great opportunities to scale. Because the new Jersey gambling market has matured quite a bit, it will be interesting to see whether casinos can maintain the same pace of growth.
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Is New Jersey’s growth sustainable?
What the Garden State is currently experiencing can best be described as some kind of wagering euphoria. The floodgates have been open for some time now and gamblers have no reservations about rushing in from offshore markets to an activity that is now legal.
For casino operators, it’s a land grab characterized by glitzy ads and too good to be true sign up offers. Question is, will it last? As people get more accustomed to online gaming, the euphoria will obviously dissipate. However, it will be a while before that happens, especially due to these challenging times that we are currently dealing with.
Some challenges must be dealt with if New Jersey is to maintain its winning streak. For instance, payment friction continues to be a huge problem as 4 out of the biggest 8 card issuers continue to deny gambling transactions to gamblers in New Jersey. Hopefully, as sports betting and online gambling becomes more prevalent across the country, problems with payment systems should drop, which will cause the revenue to keep rising.
Always keep responsible gambling in mind
With all this being said, New Jersey’s amazing revenue figures do come with strings attached, especially since so much revenue is being generated from a relatively small population size. The online gambling industry is under scrutiny in all parts of the world as gambling addiction rates continue to soar.
As a rule of thumb, you should never gamble more than you can afford to lose. Gambling is supposed to be a fun form of entertainment. The experience is supposed to be exciting; if you happen to win something extra, then all the better. As long as you are honest with yourself and stick to your limits, then you shouldn’t have any problems enjoying your favorite pastime.
Final Thoughts
The growth of regulated online gaming in New Jersey simply cannot be stopped. The internet is the next frontier not just for the betting market but for all industries that want to survive. Globally, online gambling is a multi-billion-dollar market and a huge percentage of the billion comes from regulated online gaming from the Garden State.
For years, New Jersey has held the top spot and it has no signs of letting it go. As time progresses, the market continues to grow. So all we can do is wait and watch.
Are you a New Jersey resident interested in playing online in our state and taking advantage of the best offers? Check out our curated list of NJ casinos, NJ sportsbooks, and online bonuses.
