New Jersey’s Overall September Gaming Revenue Up, Atlantic City Casinos Down
New Jersey’s gaming industry experienced a robust September, with online casinos and sports betting playing pivotal roles in driving revenue. That’s according to the latest monthly revenue reports from state regulator the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
The nine New Jersey casino venues in Atlantic City reported a collective revenue of $246.5 million from in-person gamblers, marking a slight 2.1% year-over-year decline. Only Ocean Casino Resort and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City showcased better returns in September 2023 compared to the same month in 2022.
The revenue downturn for Atlantic City casinos last month will have been influenced by the serious cyberattacks against MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment. The four casinos in Atlantic City owned by these two corporations experienced a combined drop of 9.1%, accounting for almost $12 million of the year-on-year decline.
Despite the challenges faced by physical casinos, the broader gambling sector in New Jersey was on the rise. The total gaming revenue, which includes land-based, online, and sports betting, exceeded $430.9 million in September, marking an 11.8% increase over September 2022.
Online Casinos and Sports Betting Shine
New Jersey online casinos saw an impressive month, generating $163.8 million in revenue – their second-best month ever.
New Jersey online sports betting was also booming over the month, given September is the start of the NFL and college football seasons. Online and retail sportsbook attracted nearly $1.3 billion in handle over the month.
This resulted in more than $71.6 million in revenue for sports betting, a cool 62.8% year-over-year increase.
The most popular sportsbook for New Jersey bettors in September was DraftKings, delivered with Resorts World Digital. It pulled in $49 million for the month in revenues and paid $6.573 million in tax.
Meanwhile, New Jersey retail sportsbooks pulled in a respectable $43.5 million in handle. As usual, online sportsbooks stole the show by a long shot – but the appeal of Atlantic City casinos keeps retail sportsbooks in a better spot than in many states with both regulated online and retail betting.
Casino Breakdown
Meanwhile in Atlantic city, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, an MGM Resorts property, remains the market leader.
However, the casino reported a 12.9% decline from September 2022, bringing in $53.4 million from in-person gamblers. Hard Rock, on the other hand, showcased a 7.3% year-over-year increase, generating $46.9 million last month.
Ocean Casino Resort was the only Atlantic City casino to see significant growth over the month. Its revenues saw a 29.2% increase from September 2022, generating $39.5 million. The three casinos operated by Caesars Entertainment each brought in more than $21 million in monthly in-person gambling revenue.
Ocean Casino Resort, much like one Las Vegas strip club, clearly profited off the major disruption at MGM Resorts and the PR disaster for Caesars after two serious cyberattacks early in September.
MGM refused to pay the ransom demands of the hackers, causing outages in all its systems across its U.S. casino resorts that eventually cost it $100 million. Caesars, however, paid a $15 million ransom, but then suffered negative press (and a couple of lawsuits) when news of the attack leaked.
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