Atlantic City: Weak land-based results in February but online continues to prosper
News on 15 Mar 2018
News on 15 Mar 2018
The Atlantic City gambling numbers for February are out, showing a weak performance from land-based casino action, but a new monthly record in online activity, which continued to prosper.
Getting the bad news out of the way first, land activity slowed, delivering gaming revenue down 8.9 percent year-on-year to $170 million. The main culprits were a 15.5 percent dip in table game revenue, and a 6.1 percent slip in slot revenue. Caesars took the biggest hit – down 23 percent in revenue.
The online picture was much brighter, with overall revenues just short of $22 million ($21.992 million) – not only a new monthly record but 17.5 percent higher than a year previously. The previous record, set in January this year in a month with more days, was surpassed by $30,000.
Online casinos were again the star performers, contributing 22.2 percent more than the same period last year to add $20.2 million to the overall online revenue pot. Over the past year the online casino vertical contribution has consistently topped the $20 million mark.
Online poker was as expected weak, with revenues falling 18.3 percent y-o-y to just $1.77 million.
Combined land and online revenues reached $192 million – a decline of 6.5 percent year-on-year.
Golden Nugget again led the field in the online environment, setting a new monthly record at $7.88 million – up 52.4 percent; the company was the only land-based operation to post positive results in February as well.
Borgata trailed at $3.79 million (almost all from online casino) with Resorts Digital at third with $3.77 million (almost $700,000 from poker).
Further back ion the field was Tropicana on $3.35 million, and Caesars Interactive on $3.2 million.
New Jersey writer and analyst Steve Ruddock has predicted more records for online in the year ahead, writing:
“New and expanded product lines, improved payment processing, and advancements in customer service will continue to drive organic growth. And the market is expected to expand when Ocean Resort Casino and Hard Rock Atlantic City launch online casinos in the coming months.
“After growth slowed at the tail end of 2017, only the most optimistic projections could have predicted the start to this year for the online gambling industry,” he added. “If February’s per-day haul is indicative of the coming year, we could see a $24 million month as early as March.”
February brought New Jersey’s legal online gambling industry to $766.4 million in combined lifetime revenue. The current pace of the industry’s growth keeps the $1 billion mark within reach by the end of 2018.
New Jersey online casinos paid $3.85 million in taxes to the state in February. Since New Jersey legalized and regulated online gambling, the Garden State’s online casinos have generated $134.3 million in tax revenue for the state.
