Legal online gambling record month helps New Jersey eclipse $100 million in total tax revenue
Data analyzed by PlayNJ.com analysts shows the certain impact of the regulated online gambling industry in New Jersey after generating $21.1 million in gross revenue in May.
Including the impressive posting in May, which marked the third consecutive month that the state has eclipsed $20 million in gross revenue, according to PlayNJ.com analysts, more than $100 million in total tax revenue has been generated by New Jersey’s online casinos.
Recently released by the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, the New Jersey Monthly Internet Gross Revenue Report, showed that during the month of May, more than $21.1 million in gross revenue was generated by legal online casinos. That figure up from the previous month’s total of $20.8 million generated in April and close to the record $21.7 million set in March.
The strong month was in spite of the holiday weekend, Memorial Day, which typically sees suppressed online gaming revenue. The impressive showing in May vaulted the total tax revenue in New Jersey to $101.25 million since 2013 when the state legalized online casino games and poker. Reflected in the New Jersey Monthly Internet Gross Revenue Report, the tax revenue totals are a result of the state-imposed 15 percent tax as well as a 2.5 percent reinvestment tax used towards paying off debt in Atlantic City.
PlayNJ.com senior analyst, Robert DellaFave, said that even skeptics can’t deny the impact that online gambling has made in New Jersey, with the contribution to state coffers now surpassing $100. DellaFave said, “New Jersey’s online gambling industry may be the state’s only new revenue stream to both generate more than $100 million in tax dollars and to do it without placing a heavy burden on citizens.”
“Record or near-record breaking monthly revenue tallies are more of an inevitability than an anomaly at this stage in the New Jersey online gambling industry’s lifecycle,” said DellaFave.
A report in May indicated that after years of struggle, Atlantic City’s casinos seem to be finally trending upward, with profit figures for the city’s remaining seven casinos up 30.4 percent for the first quarter of this year when compared to last year. Further indication of the significant impact of regulated online gaming in Atlantic City, where the reinvestment tax is being used to help pay down its millions of dollars of debt as part of a state rescue plan.
DellaFave said, “Atlantic City is inundated with debt, but thanks to tax revenue contributions from online gambling, the beleaguered city stands a stronger chance of making a full recovery, according to the report.
The New Jersey Monthly Internet Gross Revenue Report also indicates that the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is the reigning leader in lifetime revenue generated by online casinos and poker, however, the Golden Nugget Atlantic City topped the month of May with its reported $5.9 million.
