Sports wagering and internet gambling hit new record levels last month in New Jersey. The primary reason for this is the constant evolution and decreasing dependence on brick-and-mortar casinos of the regulated gambling market in Atlantic City.
Record levels:
Over $171.5 million was earned from slots and online table games by the technology allies of casinos and of course casinos, in compliance with the information provided by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. Simultaneously, the 3 horse tracks that agreed to receive sports wagers and casinos earned $1.62 billion worth of wagers during November, which represents one more record.
Combined, these figures offer new evidence that a broad range of wagering options and technology are changing the method some individuals gamble in the aforementioned state, where for the longest time in-person gambling at a brick-and-mortar casino has been the primary method of wagering.
In this regard, the director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, Jane Bokunewicz, who studies the gambling industry of the Atlantic City, pointed out that sports and internet wagering accounted for nearly 45% of the income of the Atlantic City during November. However, she sees it as “complementary” to brick-and-mortar casinos rather then “competing with them.”
On that note, director Bokunewicz commented, “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. 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, as reported by the Associated Press.
Time will tell how the growth of sports and online wagering impacts the total profitability of casinos. In addition, these profit streams have to be shared with allies such as technology platforms and sportsbooks and are not exclusive to casinos. This is largely the primary reason why casinos think that money earned from in-person players is their core business, according to Bokunewicz.
In addition, in-person gambling still hasn’t reached the level of revenue it had prior to the pandemic. Of the 9 New Jersey’s casinos, just Ocean Casino resort and Hard Rock earned significantly more from in-person players this November than they did during November 2019, which was the time prior to the pandemic.
Revenue data for November:
When you add up the money earned from online, in-person and sports wagering at the 3 racetracks and casinos, the overall sum during last month was $482.4 million, a 9.4% increase compared to 2022.
As for Golden Nugget, which is known for its strong online gambling business, it earned more than $50m from internet casino games, an increase of almost 33% compared to 2022. In addition, other “online winners” who made a significant amount of income during the same month are:
- Resorts Digital – the online division of Resorts Casino, earned $47.2 million, an increase of more than 26%
- Borgata – earned almost $38m online, a decrease of 14.4%
As for the total gambling income, involving sports wagering and internet, the figures are:
- flagship Borgata earned more than $97 million, a decrease of 8.6% from 2022,
- the Golden Nugget earned $61 million, an increase of almost 25%,
- Hard Rock earned $52.4 million, an increase of more than 26%,
- Ocean earned $36.7 million, an increase of 5.7%,
- Tropicana earned $28.5 million, an increase of 8.2%,
- Harrah’s earned $20 million, a decrease of 2.3%,
- Bally’s earned $19.7 million, an increase of more than 29%,
- Caesars earned almost $17.9 million, a decrease of 6.6%
- Resorts earned $12.4 million, up under 1%
In terms of money earned from in-person gamblers alone, the numbers are:
- Borgata earned $51.6 million, a decrease of 6.1%
- Hard Rock earned $41.4 million, an increase of 16.7%
- Ocean earned $31.4 million, an increase of 1.4%
- Harrah’s earned $19.4 million, a decrease of 7.6%
- Tropicana earned $17.8 million, a decrease of 6.8%
- Caesars earned $17.5 million, a decrease of 7.7%
- Resorts earned almost $12.5 million, a decrease of 0.2%
- Bally’s earned $12 million, an increase of 20.4%
- Golden Nugget earned $11 million, a decrease of almost 3%
And finally, the overall sum of money wagered on sports, called the handle, achieved a fresh “high.” However, of the $1.62 billion worth of wagers taken by tracks and casinos, just $96 million was retained as income following payment of winning wagers and other costs.
On a related note, the Meadowlands Racetrack located in East Rutherford, which is known as the location of the FanDuel sportsbook, earned more than half of the aforementioned income, aka $57.6m. Additionally, Resorts Digital, which is affiliated with DraftKings, has earned more than $19m from sports wagering.