Atlantic City casinos have reported gaming revenue increases for 16 straight months, according to figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
As the commencement of the NFL season saw the regions online and retail sportsbooks soar to a record handle and past $4bn in bets since launch, total gaming revenue for New Jersey came in at $303.5m for September, a 7.8 per cent increase year-on-year from $281.4m.
“September marks 16 straight months of increased gaming revenue for Atlantic City casinos,” stated Steve Callender, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey.
“We continued to see gains in sports betting and tourism numbers this summer, with gaming revenue increasing over 16 percent compared to last summer. We believe this excitement will continue into the fall season as all major sports are in full swing.”
New Jersey igaming continued to go from strength to strength during the month, securing a near 60 per cent revenue rise from $25.7m to $41.1m, as the Golden Nugget continued it’s dominance with a 68.5m jump to $15.6m (2018: $9.2m).
Amid a number of huge online increases, Caesars Interactive and Tropicana fell to 5.1 and 2.4 per cent losses during the period to $3.9m and $3.2m respectively.
On a land-based casino basis the Garden State’s industry fell to a 3.2 per cent decrease, as revenue finished the month at $224.5m (2018: $231.9m).
The Borgata continues with its leading status by securing $57.4m revenue, a 5.1 per cent drop from $60.5m, with last year’s entrants Hard Rock and Ocean Resort the only two properties to record increases.
Sports betting posted a number of milestones during the month, including $4.2bn in lifetime handle, $284.8m in lifetime sports betting revenue and $33.5m in tax revenue collected.
Amid the potential creation of an online sports betting behemoth via the merger of the parent companies of FanDuel and Fox Bet, $374.3m in bets were made in September, accounting for 84 per cent of New Jersey’s handle, down from 85 per cent a month earlier.
Sports wagering revenue across Atlantic City casinos rose 22.7 per cent to $17.5m (2018: $14.3m), which increases to $37.8m when including racetrack licenses, a 59.3 per cent boost from $23.7m.
“New Jersey more than doubled its handle from September 2018, which is staggering growth,” added Dusin Gouker, lead analyst at PlayNJ.com. “After such an impressive debut, the question now becomes how much room is there to grow? The upward trajectory will continue, it is just a matter of how steep the growth.”
