has been all smiles for online casinos in New Jersey, surpassing $20m in gross revenue for the fifth month in a row and with two new online casinos now becoming fully licensed.

Figures from last month show an increase of 18.5 % year-on-year basis in online gaming. They reported a gross revenue of $20.6m, compared to $17.4m in the same period last year. Additionally, playMGM and Scores have been granted new licenses to operate.

Despite these growing figures, land-based casino revenue decreased to $247m in July, a 4% decline on year-on-year basis. Overall, New Jersey reported a total of $247m in gross revenue for the month of July. This signifies a 2.7% decrease from the $275m posted in July 2016.

Although online casinos have been a controversial issue in the US in recent years, these outlets have proven to be a great success in terms of revenue and profits. Since the introduction in the state of New Jersey in 2013, online casinos continued to boost the gaming industry. In the first half of this year, internet gaming revenue was $142m, which represents a 26.6% jump compared to the same prior year period .