Caesars Returns Tropicana Brand to New Jersey Online Casino Market

Posted on: April 5, 2023, 06:43h. 

Last updated on: May 8, 2024, 10:16h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Caesars Entertainment announced today it is relaunching the Tropicana Online Casino in the state of New Jersey, breathing new life into the internet version of one of the state’s most iconic land-based gaming venues.

Tropicana AC
The exterior of the Tropicana Atlantic City casino entrance along the Boardwalk. Caesars restarted the online version of the casino today. (Image: AP)

The desktop version of Tropicana Online Casino is live, and mobile bettors can download the related app iOS and Android. Tropicana’s internet version features standard iGaming fare, such as slot machines, video poker, and table games. Those include blackjack, American and European roulette, and baccarat, among others. In conjunction with the relaunch of Tropicana Online in New Jersey, Caesars also rolled out a pair of new responsible gaming initiatives.

The first is the industry’s most comprehensive universal exclusion policy, which adds participants who are currently on a state-sponsored self-exclusion list where Caesars operates to the universal exclusion list for all Caesars’ gaming facilities and platforms across the enterprise. In addition, the company has adopted an enhanced 21+ gaming policy that restricts Caesars Rewards accounts to individuals over 21 years of age and, where permitted by law, limits all domestic gaming, pari-mutuel, sports, and iGaming options to those over 21 years of age,” according to a statement.

New Jersey is one of six states that permit online casinos. The other five are Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Caesars already offers iGaming in New Jersey under its namesake brand.

Tropicana Online Could Resonate in New Jersey

Tropicana Online could prove to be branding that entices New Jersey bettors that are familiar with the land-based equivalent on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

That property opened in 1981 under that name. But its roots date back to 1919, and it is one of three on the Boardwalk operated by Caesars. The others are Caesars Palace and Harrah’s. Tropicana Atlantic City joined the Caesars portfolio by way of Eldorado Resorts’ 2020 takeover of the company, which created “new Caesars.” Before that, Eldorado operated Tropicana on the Boardwalk.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI) owns the real estate and leases the venue to Caesars. The corporate history of Tropicana Atlantic City is interesting. Tropicana Entertainment LLC declared bankruptcy in 2008 during the global financial crisis. Two years later, financier Carl Icahn helped the company emerge from bankruptcy.

Over the next eight years, Tropicana Entertainment was involved in several mergers and acquisitions, ultimately selling itself to Eldorado in 2018. A year later, Icahn orchestrated the sale of “old Caesars” to Eldorado.

Focusing on the here and now, Caesars leveraging a particular brand — as with Tropicana Online Casino — for internet success isn’t unusual. For example, there are online versions of Borgata and Golden Nugget in New Jersey, while parent companies BetMGM and DraftKings have distinct iGaming platforms in the state.

Shrewd Move by Caesars

The announcement of the rebirth of Tropicana Online in New  Jersey arrived less than a week after an analyst argued Caesars Digital isn’t getting the appreciation from investors it deserves.

More importantly, Tropicana Online restarted as Caesars is nearing profitability for its online unit — an effort that could be helped by the internet casino’s links to the gaming company’s famed loyalty program.

“The new iCasino app and online casino experience offers customers enhanced functionality with a catalog of industry-leading casino games and an improved integration with the industry-leading loyalty program, Caesars Rewards,” said the operator in the press release.