Online casino revenue generated just over $557.2 million in operator revenue for November, the fourth time in 2023 an all-time monthly high was reached by the six states offering the gaming discipline.

It was the first time monthly revenue topped $550 million, which is impressive given the group of six did not generate $500 million in any month until March of this year at $534.5 million. November’s figure, which surpassed the previous high of $542.7 million set in September, was spurred by record hauls from Michigan and New Jersey. Both states cleared $170 million in monthly operator winnings for the first time, with Michigan’s $175.3 million an all-time national monthly high.

The tally of online casino revenue entering the final month of 2023 was nearly $5.58 billon, an increase of 22.9% versus last year. Adjusted gross revenue was up 22.8% to close to $5.34 billion as only Connecticut and Michigan report operator deductions.

The $110.7 million in state taxes generated narrowly missed being an all-time monthly high for iGaming, coming within $47,150 of September’s amount. It was enough to send the year-to-date tax total to more than $1.1 billion — the first time combined iGaming state taxes crossed the $1 billion threshold.

Pennsylvania online casinos accounted for nearly 40% of that amount, with the state receiving just shy of $44 million. The combined tax receipts from the six states is more than $222.1 million ahead of last year’s pace.

Known handle for November was close to $7.2 billion among Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, marking the second consecutive month of decline from September’s all-time high of more than $7.4 billion. The year’s known handle — Michigan and New Jersey do not report amounts wagered through online casino platforms — entering December was close to $73.6 billion, which was up 26.7% compared to the first 11 months of 2022.

FanDuel making MotorCity purr

Michigan’s rise to national prominence when it comes to iGaming revenue can be traced to the staggering growth of the FanDuel online casino. Tethered to Detroit’s MotorCity Casino, FanDuel’s revenue has bounced from $28.9 million at the start of the year to $34.1 million in March to $35.2 million in September to nearly $37 million in October and more than $43.9 million in November.

It joined BetMGM as the only online casino platforms in Michigan to clear $40 million in monthly revenue, and made that longtime powerhouse sweat out a monthly revenue victory. The $2.8 million gap between the operators was the smallest between BetMGM and any Michigan iGaming operator for all of 2023. FanDuel has generated $362.4 million in gross revenue in 2023, up 57.8% compared to last year.

FanDuel was not the only Michigan-based online casino operator to win big in November. Four platforms tethered to tribes — BetRivers ($10.7 million), Caesars ($9.1 million), Soaring Eagle ($3 million), and Bally’s ($1.9 million) — also set all-time highs as both Detroit’s three commercial mobile platforms and the 14 tribal-based counterparts had record monthly revenue when split into those categories. The commercial operators claimed close to $94.8 million in winnings; the tribal-based ones topped $80 million for the first time, reaching just over $80.5 million.

A $50 million milestone in the Garden State

As Michigan welcomed its second online operator into the $40 million club, New Jersey had its first platform reach the rarified air of $50 million in November. Golden Nugget — home to FanDuel, BetRivers, and Betway in addition to its own online skin — topped the benchmark by close to $114,000, and did so without a poker rake.

The second half of the year has seen iGaming surge in the Garden State — November marked the second consecutive monthly record for total online casino revenue as Resorts Digital followed with an all-time monthly high of more than $47.2 million. Resorts may have seen a bounce from the launch of ESPN BET as part of PENN Entertainment’s pivot from Barstool, despite the nearly $6.1 million in promotional spend being down slightly from October.

As Golden Nugget and Resorts climbed, the Borgata failed to keep pace. Yes, its $37.9 million in operator winnings was up from October, but it marked the first time the platform failed to deliver $40 million in monthly revenue in back-to-back months since the start of 2022 prior to clearing that level for the first time. The falloff moved Borgata into slightly red territory for year-to-date revenue — the $449.3 million is down 0.7% compared to the first 11 months of last year.

Pennsylvania’s table games reach all-time high

Though the $158 million in adjusted gross revenue for November was not an all-time high in Pennsylvania, the online green felt drew plenty of action as operators did set a record with more than $46.4 million in table games revenue from online casino games including craps, blackjack, and roulette. Online poker rake, however, hit a year low at close to $2.3 million.

PENN’s group of its own Hollywood Casino plus DraftKings, BetMGM, and PointsBet paced all licensee holders with $61.1 million in revenue. It was its fourth consecutive month above $60 million, but well off its September all-time high of nearly $64.9 million. FanDuel helped power Valley Forge to its best month in history at over $41.1 million, the offshoot of a record handle topping $1.4 billion in November.

Newcomers Golden Nugget and Bally’s are continuing to carve out their respective niches in the competitive state. Golden Nugget’s month-over-month revenue ticked slightly higher above $3 million as its handle has settled into a band just over $150 million. Bally’s narrowly missed its second month with $2 million in operator winnings since launch in July, but it did top $60 million handle for the third time in that span.

DraftKings shines in Connecticut

The iGaming de facto duopoly enjoyed by DraftKings and FanDuel in Connecticut saw the former do the heavy lifting for all-time monthly overall highs. DraftKings topped $750 million in handle for the first time even as its promotional spend shrank to a year-low 0.5% of handle. Its $22.9 million in gross winnings was also an all-time best as the Connecticut reported more than $1.2 billion handle and close to $38.5 million in revenue.

West Virginia’s handle slipped under $400 million for the first time since August, but that may be due to reporting method as the state lottery provides numbers on a weekly basis without an end-of-month tally. Operator revenue totaled $12.7 million, down 11.2% from October, but the $138.6 million in winnings this year is already 21.6% higher than the full-year total for 2022.

Delaware operators rebounded nicely from their lone sub-$1 million monthly revenue total in October by clearing $1.1 million in November. Handle clicked higher from October to $32.1 million, but that is nowhere near May’s all-time high of $44.2 million wagered. Delaware is in line for a small year-over-year gain in iGaming revenue, needing approximately $725,000 to match the $13.6 million-plus generated in 2022.

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