With lockdown slowly lifting, will 2021 topple New Jersey’s 2020 all-time high casino revenue?
New Jersey is a state with lots to be proud of. From North Jersey’s wildlife refuges to amazing sights, friendly locals and awesome beaches, it never fails to deliver. The Garden State has so many cool spots to check out and things to be proud of. One recent breakthrough that New Jersey played a major role in was the changing attitudes towards sports betting and online casino play in the USA.Â
The trail-blazing leadership NJ showed in 2018 not only saw the US Supreme Court overrule the PASPA laws around sports betting but also helped change the online casino landscape in the USA. This saw online gambling become legal within state borders in 2013 and set an example for others to follow.
 The online casino sector is one that has been growing rapidly around the world over the last decade or so. This growth is now being experienced in America, with New Jersey’s 2020 online casino revenue figures being a great example. This saw the state setting a record-high casino revenue figure of $99.5m in December 2020 – this was up over 100% from December 2019! But can 2021 see this figure continue to rise, with the Covid-19 lockdown beginning to lift?
2021 could be set to follow the same pattern
To predict any future market moves is always a tough call. When it comes to online casino gaming in New Jersey, though, the signs certainly look promising. Evidence from 2020, for example, clearly shows that online gambling had been on a steady rise for the previous 12 months. December’s record casino revenue handle was awesome enough but previous months had also returned eye-catching handles.
NJ casinos generated $93.5m in October 2020, while November 2020 saw a figure of $91.8m reported. When combined with the rest of 2020’s figures, this kind of historical performance in the last 12 months suggests that the upward trend should continue.
More people involved with casino gaming now
You could also argue that 2021 is all set to topple 2020’s record-breaking year for casino play in the state because of how popular iGaming is now. Over the last 12 months, it seems that more and more people have started to play online casino games.
This has been in part due to the legalization of online gambling, bringing it more into the mainstream over time, and also the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns. At the height of the pandemic, people had to obey stay-at-home orders and this meant they started looking for fun things to do at home. Casino gaming online was the natural choice for many in New Jersey.
The opening up of the US online casino sector as a whole should also see new casino sites deciding to operate in states at the forefront of new legislation, where potential revenue is highest. Indeed, many top online casino sites are targeted primarily at a New Jersey audience, such as; https://www.casinotopsonline.com/top-new-jersey-online-casinos.
As all regulated online casinos have to pay a tax on their revenues, plus a license fee, this could also bring more money into the sector for New Jersey in 2021.Â
How much effect will lockdown slowly lifting have?
While there are many reasons to assume that 2021 could easily surpass 2020’s record casino revenue figure in the state, the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown being slowly lifted must be mentioned. As already noted above, the whole online casino sector got a real boost when lockdown was in full force. It is pretty clear that the extra number of people being at home was a big factor in the figures Jersey returned in 2020.
With lockdown beginning to ease, might this have a negative impact on casino revenues across the state in 2021? While it is hard to say for sure, you would say on balance that it shouldn’t. While some may not continue playing casino games online post-lockdown, it is more likely that most will continue to enjoy the practice.
2021 can be a great year for casino revenue in NJ
The figures posted by New Jersey for online casino revenue in 2020 were pretty amazing, especially during the final months of the year. This has led to much excitement across the whole sector in the USA, which uses New Jersey as a benchmark for future trends. Although lifting lockdown may have some negative effect on state revenues for 2021, it is more likely that the upward trend from 2020 will continue.
