N.J. gaming suffers hit during June shutdown

The final month of coronavirusmandated closures for New Jersey’s casinos and racetracks was predictably bad.

Figures released Tuesday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the nine casinos and two horse tracks that offer sports betting won $97.5 million in June, a decline of

65.6 percent from a year earlier, and virtually the same percentage decline that they posted in May, when revenue was down 65.4 percent from a year earlier.

June was the last full month that

New Jersey’s casinos were shut down due to the virus; most of them reopened in the first week of July except for the Borgata, which will reopen on July 26.

With the casinos remaining shut since March 16, June’s winnings came online — nearly $85 million, up from $38 million a year earlier — and from extremely limited sports betting, including European soccer, Asian baseball and mixed martial arts matches — $12.6 million, up from $9.7 million a year ago. Even with the limited betting menu, gamblers were able to make over $165 million worth of sports wagers in June.