New Jersey sets online poker revenue record for second straight month

Garden State online poker rooms generated $5.1 million worth of revenue in April, just a month after setting an all-time high with $3.6 million. The $5.1 million represents a 208 percent rise year-over-year, according to figures released by the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement.

Brick-and-mortar casinos were closed for the entire month in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but online casinos still raked in another $74.8 million in addition to its poker games, representing a 114 percent increase year-over-year.

Online sports betting pulled in $2.6 million in revenue, but with most American sports on hold, the options for betting were limited to obscure sports and on leagues in other countries. With several UFC fights to return without fans in May, and other major leagues putting together plans to resume play, it’s likely that this figure steadily returns to pre-COVID-19 figures very soon.

The closing of brick-and-mortar casinos dealt a blow to the overall Garden State gambling market as the online-only market generated $82.6 million, a whopping 68.9 percent decrease from last year’s April numbers. In April of 2019, the state saw gambling operators win $265.4 million from gamblers.

The state government raked in $12.4 million in tax revenue thanks to a 15 percent tax on internet gambling revenue, compared to less than half that rate for brick-and-mortar operations.

Through the first four months of 2020, total gaming revenue is up to $833.9 million. The first four months of 2019 yielded $1.03 billion in revenue.

There has yet to be an announcement from Gov. Phil Murphy regarding the reopening of the nine Atlantic City casinos, but several other states with smaller gambling markets have begun the reopening process.

Since Atlantic City is the second-largest gambling market in the country, behind Las Vegas, it is likely that Murphy will open casinos in a similar time frame as Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.