For the first time in history, online gaming revenue outpaced live casino gaming in New Jersey in October. The Garden State and other states saw major online gaming growth with Michigan seeing a record high for the month.

Despite that, online poker continues to sag with a drop in Pennsylvania and flat in New Jersey. Here’s a look at the gaming results from the three largest online gaming markets.

Pennsylvania

Numbers just keep going up for the Keystone State, including massive growth for online gaming. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported combined total revenue from all forms of gaming reached $496.6 million in October, up 2.8% from the same month in 2023.

Online gaming accounted for $189 million compared to $154.8 million in October 2023, a 22.1% increase. However, online poker dipped in October. Here’s a look at revenue numbers by category.

● Online slots – $140.9 million (up 28.3%)
● Online table games – $45.9 million (up 7.8%)
● Online poker – $2.2 million (down 5.9%)

With football season underway, sports wagering handle spiked to $858.1 million in October, an increase of 3.5%. That produced $27.4 million, 43.15% lower than in October 2023. October saw sportsbooks lose big in some key NFL matchups and that may explain the dip in taxable revenue. Online wagering accounted for $25.4 million in revenue. The state collected $209.2 million in total tax revenue from all forms in October.

New Jersey
Live gaming once again dropped in New Jersey, according to the Division of Gaming Enforcement, with total live casino revenue totaling $208.7 million in October, a decrease of 8.5% from $228.1 million in 2023. By contrast, online gaming produced $213.6 million, up 28.1% compared to $166.8 million in October 2023.

This marked the first time online gaming revenue surpassed live gaming. Year to date, live casino revenue reached $2.36 billion, a decrease of 1.6%. Online gaming stands at $1.95 billion year to date, reflecting
growth of 23.7% compared to $1.57 billion in 2023. Online poker revenue stood at $2.3 million, rising just 1% from October 2023.

Sports wagering gross revenue was $77.5 million for October, a 16% decline from $92.3 million last October. Year-to-date gross revenue has reached $912.8 million, a 13.9% increase from $801.3 million in 2023.

Total revenue from all forms of gaming (live and online) equated to $499.8 million for October, a 2.6% jump from $487.1 million last October. Year-to-date total gaming revenue is at $5.22 billion, a 9.3% increase.

Michigan

Online gaming and sports betting operators reported $253.7 million in gross revenue in October, a drop of 2.8% compared to September. Online casino gaming accounted for $220.7 million, the highest total to date with the previous high of $215.2 million coming in March.

October sports betting revenue reached $33 million, a fall from $58.4 million in September. Combined total iGaming and online sports betting adjusted gross receipts (AGR) for October totaled $208.5 million, with $198.6 million from iGaming and $9.9 million from sports. This was an increase of 8.9% for casino and decrease of 64.3% for sports betting compared to September. Compared to October 2023, iGaming AGR was up by 37.7% and sports betting was down by 58%.

The total October online sports betting handle of $560.4 million was up by 11.7% from $501.8 million recorded in September. iGaming operators submitted $42.1 million in taxes to the state and tribal operators made $5.2 million in payments to governing bodies in October.