The New Jersey Gaming Division on Monday released its May 2023 sports betting and gaming revenue reports.
Highlights include:
- May total sports betting handle was $778.8 million, down 6.6% from April and up 1.6% from May 2022;
- May mobile sports betting handle was $741 million, down 7.2% from April and up 4.6% from May 2022;
- May sports betting revenue was $82.2 million, up 13.6% from April and up 33.4% from May 2022; and
- Mobile represented a 95.1% share of the sports betting market in May.
“New Jersey’s May handle took a slight decrease in May, with a 6.6% decrease overall and a 7.2% decrease in mobile handle from April. This is typical for the beginning of the summer slow season, and slightly better than some of its peer markets,” TopNJCasinos.com analyst Dru James said.
“As sports betting tapers off in the warmer months, there is a chance that there will be an uptick in gaming revenue. For now, the 1.6% month-over-month increase is on par with the historical rate, but many stakeholders will be keeping an eye on these numbers through the summer,” James continued.
Internet gaming win and sports wagering revenue continued to be strong in May, helping push Atlantic City’s total gaming revenue to over $400 million for a third consecutive month.
May’s total gaming revenue was $470.9 million, up 1.8% from April and up 9.4% from May 2022.
“In May 2023, we saw the continuation of a trend, with significant month-over-month growth in total gross gaming revenue for Atlantic City operators driven primarily by internet gaming revenue,” Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University School of Business, said.
Although down 2.4% from last year, at $227.3 million, May 2023 brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenues exceeded 2019. According to Bokunewicz, the figures are a continuation of a return to pre-pandemic levels, but not the amount of growth many may have hoped to see from this sector.
