There’s a new market leader among New Jersey online casino license-holders, as Resorts overtook Borgata in March. The latter has held the title since early 2021. Resorts acts as the land-based partner for DraftKings Casino, while Borgata is home to the overall US market-leading operator BetMGM.
By all measures, March was a good month for the US online casino industry as a whole. Gross iGaming revenue across all six online casino states amounted to $569 million. Daily average revenue increased 3.6% from February.
By contrast, daily average revenue was flat during the same period in 2022. Meanwhile, Bonus projected 2.8% growth for the month in our 2023 revenue forecast, so March exceeded expectations in both regards.
Despite a slow start to the year, the industry is now closing in on the expected trend. March GGR was within 0.2% of the Bonus projection, and total year-to-date revenue is now just 2% below expectation, compared to 2.9% in February.
NJ: Resorts Becomes the New Top Dog
New Jersey is the longest-standing legal online gambling market in the US, having launched in 2013. For most of that history, Golden Nugget was the top-performing license. The online casino was among the market’s initial lineup of sites, and its retail property is an Atlantic City icon.
Things changed when MGM Resorts International teamed up with Entain (then GVC) in 2018 to create the BetMGM joint venture. Between MGM’s brand power and Entain’s online gambling experience, BetMGM quickly rose to dominate the national market.
BetMGM operates on the MGM-owned Borgata license in New Jersey, alongside the Borgata house brand and a handful of other smaller skins. As of this month, those now include the new Wheel of Fortune Casino, also owned by BetMGM.
Less than two years after BetMGM’s launch, Borgata’s share of the New Jersey market had doubled. It overtook Golden Nugget in March 2021.
A few months after, Resorts emerged as a third contender as DraftKings began progressing in the casino vertical. Exactly two years after Borgata claimed the crown from Golden Nugget, Resorts has now found its way to the top of the ladder.
New Jersey’s eight license-holders produced $165.7 million in gross iGaming revenue for March (daily average +5.0% from February), broken down as follows:
- Resorts (including DraftKings, Barstool, Mohegan Sun and PokerStars): 27.1%
- Borgata (including BetMGM, Party, Pala and Scores): 26.5%
- Golden Nugget (including FanDuel, Stardust, BetRivers and Betway): 25.8%
- All others: 20.7%
Unfortunately, because multiple operators are on each license, we can’t know which individual site is the top performer. One-to-one, BetMGM may still beat DraftKings. That said, DraftKings acquired Golden Nugget in 2022, and by all indications, that combo is well ahead of BetMGM and its secondary brands.
PA Online Gambling Revenue Highlights – March 2023
- In March, Pennsylvania online gambling sites generated $181.5 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR). Online casinos generated $178.6 million, while online poker rooms contributed another $2.9 million.
- Total monthly GGR for the state – including retail casinos, sports betting, etc. – topped $500 million for the first time. That’s a significant milestone, and iGaming accounted for 35% of it.
- Pennsylvania remains the state with the highest monthly iGaming revenue.
- Daily average gaming revenue was up only 1.0% from February, less than most other states.
- March revenue for Pennsylvania was 2.9% behind the Bonus forecast, but year-to-date, the state trails expectation by only 1.5%.
- Most operators posted slight gains for the month without any significant standouts.
- On the negative end, PokerStars saw daily average revenue drop 11%, and Caesars was down 10%.
MI Online Gambling Revenue Highlights – March 2023
- Michigan online casinos and poker rooms generated a total of $171.8 million in GGR in March.
- Daily average revenue increased 4.7% from February.
- Michigan beat the Bonus forecast for March by 1.7% and is now just 2.2% behind the year-to-date estimate despite a slow start.
- Because New Jersey also had a good month, Michigan remains in second place in per capita revenue but could claim the top spot soon.
- At 30.5%, Michigan boasts the highest annual growth of the three large states.
- The newly-launched Sports Illustrated Casino generated $2.1 million in its first full month, giving it a 1.2% market share comparable with Play Gun Lake and FireKeepers.
CT Online Gambling Revenue Highlights – March 2023
- Connecticut’s two online casinos made $34.6 million in combined GGR in March.
- Compared to February, daily average revenue in March was up 7.3%, the fastest growth rate of any state save Delaware.
- Connecticut beat the Bonus forecast for March by 9.2% and is the only state ahead of expectation year-to-date: by 3.7%.
- DraftKings, which recently ended its promotional spending spree, saw daily average revenue increase just 2.5% and its market share slip to 55% – the lowest it has ever been, save for the weeks immediately after the market opened.
- Mohegan enjoyed a 13.9% monthly increase in daily average revenue. Its annual growth rate is now 73.3% compared to DraftKings’ 39.2%.
WV Online Gambling Revenue Highlights – March 2023
- West Virginia online casinos earned $14.3 million in GGR in March.
- Although the monthly total increased from $13.1 million in February, West Virginia was the only state to see the daily average decrease, falling 1.7%.
- Greenbrier, the largest of the three licenses, is responsible for the drop, having seen its daily average revenue fall 11.1%. It serves as the partner for FanDuel and BetMGM.
- Nonetheless, West Virginia’s annual growth remains the highest of any state, at 56%. This is partly due to the launch of live dealer games last year, and Bonus expects the annual growth rate to drop sharply in H2.
- Monthly revenue for March was 2.2% below Bonus’s projection, but West Virginia is still only 1.6% behind expected revenue for the year to date.
DE Online Gambling Revenue Highlights – March 2023
- Delaware’s lottery monopoly on online casino gaming saw revenue surge to $1.4 million in March from $1.1 million in February.
- As a daily average, the increase was 14.7%, the highest of any state, though Delaware is by far the smallest market.
- Delaware had been far behind what Bonus projected, so the March gains have brought it into line with expectations. March revenue was 0.6% ahead of projection, though the year-to-date total remains 7.0% behind.
US Online Gambling Revenue Summary Table
| State | GGR - March 2023 | Monthly Change | Annual Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $181,528,951 | +1.0% | +27.2% |
| Michigan | $171,830,723 | +4.7% | +30.5% |
| New Jersey | $165,711,825 | +5.0% | +17.8% |
| Connecticut | $34,576,428 | +7.3% | +52.7% |
| West Virginia | $14,264,256 | -1.7% | +55.9% |
| Delaware | $1,426,463 | +14.7% | +33.2% |
| US Total | $569,338,646 | +3.6% | +27.1% |
Notes
- Monthly growth figures are adjusted for the number of days in the month. That is, they represent the change in daily average revenue, not full-month gross revenue.
- West Virginia reports revenue weekly, not monthly. Its monthly totals are an estimate, assuming that revenue for partial weeks is distributed evenly between the seven days.
- Pennsylvania only reports adjusted revenue (gross revenue, less promotional spending). Bonus calculates gross slots revenue by subtracting payouts from coin in, but no such data is available for table games and poker. Therefore, actual gross revenue is probably somewhat higher than what we report.
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