If you thought the summer was hot in Jersey, wait till you hear what happened in October.
The state’s online casino and poker rooms didn’t just break the record Monday, they obliterated it: New Jersey reported $260.3 million in a single month. That’s the first time Jersey iGaming has ever gone north of a quarter-billion bucks.
We’re talking 21.8% higher than last October and almost $12 million more than the old record ($248.8 million) set back in August. Yeah, the one we all thought would stand for a while.
The Division of Gaming Enforcement released the numbers yesterday, and the whole gambling industry in the state finished October at $611.1 million total revenue, up 22.3% from 2024 and another 8.4% from September. Translation: every single piece of the pie got bigger.
Who’s Cashing the Biggest Checks?
FanDuel (running with Golden Nugget) still wears the crown: $60.9 million. DraftKings and Resorts Digital pulled second at $48.5 million. BetMGM and Borgata rounded out the podium with $33.2 million.
Slots and table games online did almost all the heavy lifting, $257.7 million of it, while the poker rooms chipped in another $2.6 million.
Sports Betting Went Absolutely Nuclear
If iGaming broke the record, sports betting tried to break the internet.
Revenue jumped almost 50% to $116.1 million. Mobile crushed it with $110.7 million, and the actual retail sportsbooks at the casinos and tracks? Up 242% to $5.4 million. Yes, you read that right, two-hundred-forty-two percent.
Players across Jersey fired $1.24 billion in bets in October (up 10.7% from last year), and the books held 9.39%. That’s a damn good month.
FanDuel/Meadowlands led the mobile pack again with $39.9 million, DraftKings/Resorts right behind at $30.5 million, and Fanatics/Bally’s took third at $11.4 million. Meadowlands still owns retail with $2.3 million, Borgata second at $1.5 million.
Every one of those internet dollars gets taxed at 15% (plus another chunk for Atlantic City), which means Trenton and the senior/disabled programs just got a very nice early Christmas present.
The brick-and-mortar casinos in AC are still doing fine (about $235 million for the month), but let’s be real: the action has moved to your couch, the PATH train, or the Turnpike rest stop. That’s where the money’s being made now.
November has football, basketball’s rolling, and the holidays are coming. Buckle up, because Jersey gambling is on a heater that doesn’t look like it’s cooling off anytime soon.
Michael is the Editor-in-Chief of New Jersey Digest and Creative Director at X Factor Media. A Bergen County native, he discovered his passion for storytelling while studying at Montclair State University. In addition to his work in journalism and media, Michael is an avid fiction writer. Outside the office, he enjoys kayaking, a bold glass of Nebbiolo, and the fine art of over-editing.