New Jersey iGaming Revenue Exceeds $200M for First Time, Atlantic City Struggles

Posted on: October 17, 2024, 03:10h. 

Last updated on: October 17, 2024, 03:10h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

New Jersey iGaming revenue soared to new highs in September, as online casino slots and interactive table games won over $208.1 million from remote players. It’s the first time that New Jersey’s online gaming industry won over $200 million in a single month.

New Jersey iGaming Atlantic City casino revenue
The Atlantic City skyline is seen from an airplane. Atlantic City seemed like an afterthought for many gamblers in September, as New Jersey iGaming soared to record heights while in-person play down the shore slowed. (Image: X)

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported today that online slots and tables generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $205.9 million in September. Rake from online poker games added $2.2 million. The September iGaming bounty represented a 27% year-over-year surge.

Six other states permit online casino gaming, but only one — Michigan — has ever experienced a monthly iGaming haul of upwards of $200 million. Michigan’s online commercial and tribal gaming operations won $215.5 million in March 2024, that state’s all-time best mark.

The ongoing success of internet gaming helped push Atlantic City’s total gaming revenue to its highest figure for the month of September in over a decade,” James Plousis, chair of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, told Casino.org.

Sports betting revenue from mobile and retail operations totaled $119.6 million — up 8% — to bring statewide gaming revenue in September to $558.28 million. That’s a 7.1% premium or a year-over-year gain of about $36.8 million.

Those gains, however, were primarily felt online — not down the shore in Atlantic City. 

Tide Turns in Atlantic City

After a fruitful month in August where the nine casinos in Atlantic City reported a nearly 5% increase in brick-and-mortar play, GGR slowed in September. The DGE filing shows that retail casino revenue was down 6.5% from September 2023, a decline of about $15.9 million.

Slot machines generated GGR of $173.3 million — down 5% — while table hold dropped over 10% to $57.3 million. Combined, in-person casino win was approximately $230.6 million.

September 2024 was a Friday and Saturday short of the number of weekend days experienced in September 2023. Plousis blamed the bad calendar and table players being luckier than usual for the September drop.

The chief regulator in the second-richest gaming state in the country wrote an optimistic overall takeaway from the September data.

“Year-to-date casino win was down slightly compared to last year, but it was still the second-best September result seen in 11 years,” Plousis said. “Taking these aspects into account, business in Atlantic City remained stable through the first nine months of the year.”

Not All Revenue is Equal

Atlantic City casino leaders argue that Plousis’ cheery view on the state gaming industry doesn’t translate to the East Coast gaming mecca. Since much of the iGaming and online sports betting revenue is shared with third-party vendors like DraftKings and FanDuel that have little or no physical investment in Atlantic City, the casinos say a more accurate picture of the resort industry’s health is provided by the retail numbers.

Through three quarters of the year, in-person casino revenue is down almost 1% to $2.15 billion. Five of the nine casinos have won less money from gamblers this year than they did at this point last year — Bally’s, Caesars, Harrah’s, Resorts, and Tropicana.

Borgata and Ocean have seen GGR climb less than 1%, while Golden Nugget grew in-person gaming revenue by 2.6%. Hard Rock continues to gain market share, as the Boardwalk property has seen its GGR improve 8.3% year-over-year through September.