The Numbers
The house is built to win. Here is what that looked like in New Jersey in 2025, the most recent full year.
What "gaming revenue" means
The state reports revenue as the amount players bet minus the amount paid back out as winnings. In plain terms, it is the money players collectively lost. The industry calls it "win," because it's the house's win.
Where the money came from in 2025
View as table
| Type of gambling | 2025 revenue | Change from 2024 | Per NJ resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online casino (internet gaming) | $2.91 billion | +22.0% | about $305 |
| Atlantic City casinos (in person) | $2.89 billion | +2.7% | about $303 |
| Sports betting (online and in person) | $1.18 billion | +7.5% | about $123 |
| Total | $6.98 billion | +10.8% | about $731 |
Online casino games and online sports betting together made up about 58% of the total. Online casino revenue grew from $2.39 billion in 2024 to $2.91 billion in 2025.
The state collected $884.1 million in gross revenue taxes on gaming in 2025.
What "per resident" does and doesn't mean
The per-resident figure is simple division: 2025 revenue divided by New Jersey's July 1, 2025 population estimate of 9,548,215. Here is the math: $6,982,549,243 ÷ 9,548,215 = about $731.
It is not what the average person lost. Some of this money comes from visitors to Atlantic City, and many residents don't gamble at all. A 2023 state-commissioned study found that about 61% of NJ adults gambled in the past year. The money is concentrated among the people who bet the most, which is the next point.
Parlays: where the house makes the most
In 2025, New Jersey sportsbooks took in about $12.2 billion in wagers on completed events and kept about $1.16 billion of it, a 9.5% hold overall. The breakdown by bet type is lopsided:
View as table
| Bet type | Wagered | Kept by sportsbooks | Sportsbook hold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parlays | $3.94 billion | $755 million | 19.2% |
| Football | $1.82 billion | $94 million | 5.2% |
| Basketball | $2.72 billion | $105 million | 3.8% |
| Baseball | $1.30 billion | $56 million | 4.3% |
| Other | $2.46 billion | $153 million | 6.2% |
Parlays were about 32% of the money wagered but about 65% of what sportsbooks kept. A parlay links several bets together, and every one has to win. They pay big, but they lose far more often, which is why the house keeps so much more of them.
Problem gambling rates
In 2023, Rutgers University's Center for Gambling Studies released a report for the state's Division of Gaming Enforcement. Researchers surveyed 3,512 NJ adults between December 2020 and April 2021.
- About 61% had gambled in the past year, down from about 70% in the previous 2017 study.
- About 5.6% were in the "high-risk" category, which the researchers say corresponds to gambling disorder in other studies. That was down from 6.3% in 2017.
- About 13% were in the low-to-moderate risk categories.
- The researchers said NJ's problem gambling rate is still about three times the national average.
The survey was taken before the 2025 jump in online casino revenue, so it doesn't show the effect of that growth.
The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey said in 2024 that calls to its 1-800-GAMBLER helpline had risen 277% since sports betting was legalized in 2018, as reported by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.
Sources
- NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement: December 2025 Gaming Revenue Results (full-year 2025 figures, released January 16, 2026)
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: New Jersey (July 1, 2025 population estimate)
- Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies: The Prevalence of Online and Land-Based Gambling in New Jersey (2023)
- NJBIA: Surge in Sports Betting to be Explored at NJ Compulsive Gambling Conference (helpline call increase)
Last checked: October 1, 2026. The Division of Gaming Enforcement notes its figures are unaudited and subject to adjustment. Percentages and per-resident amounts are our own calculations from those figures.
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