Operator News
US – Online gaming and betting set new records in Atlantic City
By Phil - 20 December 2023
New Jersey’s online gaming and sports betting set new records in November as the Atlantic City gambling sector continues to become less reliant on its land-based casinos.
The overall revenue generated by New Jersey’s casinos and racetracks came in at $482.4m, marking a 9.4 per cent year-on-year increase of $41.4m but down $4.7m from a month earlier. According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, online gaming revenues reached $171.5m, marking a 17.4 per cent growth. Sports betting saw another record with $1.62bn in bets, up 45 per cent from last year.
Online and betting accounted for 45 per cent of the market’s total revenues in November, which Jane Bokunewicz, Director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, believes should be seen as complimentary.
“Rather than diminishing the brick-and-mortar gaming revenues, internet gaming and sports betting seem to be well-received consumer products that are filling a niche for certain gamblers,” she said. “There will never be a replacement for the in-person gaming experience, and the current relatively flat revenues from brick-and-mortar gaming may be simply evidence of a stable market.”
Land-based casinos generated $214.9m in November, amounting to a 0.2 per cent increase from a year earlier. Slots increased by 2.7 per cent whilst table gaming dropped by 6.5 per cent. Of the nine casinos in New Jersey, only two generated more from in-person gambling than they did in November 2019, prior to the pandemic.
The Borgata remained the market leader despite falling 6.6 per cent in November year-on-year with revenues of $51.7m. Bally’s saw the biggest upturn with growth of 20 per cent whilst Golden Nugget led the online gaming market with a 32.9 per cent increase to 32.9 per cent. Resorts Digital, in partnership with DraftKings and Fox Bet, was the November leader in sports betting generating $19.2m, a 15.9 per cent improvement on last year’s figures.
