Online gaming continues to power the gambling industry to new heights. The American Gaming Association (AGA) reported massive February gains across iGaming and online sports gambling, with a 26% year-over-year revenue increase.
Online sportsbooks earned an incredible $1.18 billion in revenue in February alone, a 39.8% jump thanks to a wild $11.83 billion wagered on sports. New York led the way with $184.5 million in revenue for February, with Illinois second at $128 million.
These gains are in stark contrast to the losses seen by traditional brick-and-mortar gaming, which saw a 5.8% decrease year-over-year.
New Jersey Sees Major Gains In Online Gaming
Nowhere is the divergence between online gaming and traditional brick-and-mortar gambling more obvious than in New Jersey. In February, nearly a billion dollars were wagered in the Garden State, with only a fraction (4%) of that being wagered in person.
Atlantic City also reported a slowdown with a 4.3% decrease in slot revenues and a 2.5% decrease in in-person casino activities.
A paradigm shift is happening in the gambling world; the convenience and ease of access to igaming puts said online operators in the driver's seat for the industry, where the casino previously ruled.
Casinos and traditional game developers are adapting to the changing landscape of the gaming industry, with omnichannel releases for new games becoming more frequent.
State Leaders in Online Gaming Push
Here are a handful of states where the same phenomenon can be observed by looking at differences in year-over-year gross gaming revenues (GGR).
New York
New York saw a $1 million decrease in casino gaming this past February, GGR fell from $61.938 million in February 2024 to $60.938 million in the same month this year.
Meanwhile, online sports gambling GGR increased year-over-year by $53.385 million. FanDuel s for 55% of that growth, netting $92.579 million in revenues.
Ohio
Ohio is yet another good example of shrinking revenues in in-person gambling versus online gambling. This February, casinos saw a nearly $2 million drop in year-over-year revenues to $81.8 million, while sports gambling, on the other hand, saw its revenue grow by $8.4 million to hit $74.89 million.
New Jersey
online casinos, has seen the same decrease in brick-and-mortar betting compared to online wagering.
In March, the Garden State saw a 4% decrease in in-person wagering year-over-year, while online gaming saw a 24% increase to $243.9 million. March marked the seventh straight month with revenues exceeding $200 million.
Illinois
Illinois is perhaps the rare instance where the opposite is true, and in-person gaming has matched the growth of online sports betting.
In the Land of Lincoln, casino gaming handles rose $3.6 million year-over-year in February, while sports gambling handles rose $4.12 million in the same period. That sports gambling growth was mainly driven by tier 2 wagers, bets not made on the outcome of an event, such as props. The handle for tier 2 wagers rose $182 million year-over-year in February.
