New Jersey online sports betting revenues could fall by 14% year-on-year because of the impact of the coronavirus.
That’s according to analyst firm Regulus Partners, which carried out the research for platform provider GAN.
NJ online sports betting revenues will now come in at $255 million for 2020, the analyst said, down from $312 million last year.
How solid is NJ online sports betting projection?
The forecast assumes the regular US sports calendar “substantially resumes” in August, with NFL betting season starting in September 2020.
However, that might be optimistic. Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman reported that coaches and front-office executives around the NFL believe the season will likely need to be pushed back.
Players will need a substantial training camp before the season, even if the pandemic situation has improved.
Better news for NJ online gambling
The Regulus forecast is a major downgrade for the sector, given that NJ sports betting revenue had been up 124% through the first two months of the year.
The outlook was brighter for NJ online gaming, which Regulus forecast to increase by 2% YoY to $677 million in 2020.
GAN said the slight uptick reflected a substitution effect, as online sports bettors shifted their spend into online gaming.
The firm said it saw a 719% increase in first-time depositors at the Ocean Casino online product on the first day after the brick-and-mortar property closed. It saw a 57% increase in the value of daily deposits for the same site.
NJ online gaming revenue was previously tracking for a 65% increase through the first two months of the year. While the sector might drop off that growth rate, the likes of DraftKings and Tropicana have reported double-digit increases in casino activity. That said, it’s unclear how well that will hold up if the country is plunged into recession.
GAN still optimistic about US online gambling
“We firmly believe that our growth opportunity in the US remains intact, albeit in a differently weighted product mix throughout the balance of 2020,” GAN chief executive Dermot Smurfit said.
The company provides the tech for FanDuel in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Elsewhere, GAN also announced a new partnership with Penn National for a social casino, and a market access deal for Michigan with an as-yet-unnamed partner.
The company expects to list on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the US next month.
