Online gambling continues to bolster Atlantic City numbers
News on 14 Oct 2016
News on 14 Oct 2016
The September numbers for Atlantic City gambling were released Thursday by the New Jersey Directorate of Gambling Enforcement, showing that once again internet gaming has helped bolster otherwise negative figures.
The eight land casino operators reported a 1.5 percent y-o-y decline in revenue at $226.6 million as observers pointed out that it could have been worse but for positive internet gambling results – up 35 percent year-on-year at $16.2 million.
Brick-and-mortar casinos took in $210.4 million in September, down 3.5 percent from a year ago. Slot machines accounted for $147 million, while table games brought in $63.4 million.
Matt Levinson, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said September casino business was hurt by threatening weather over the crucial Labor Day weekend.
“September was a month marked by a threatened hurricane, a state of emergency, and two cancelled beach concerts over the long Labor Day weekend and the winding down of operations at the Trump Taj Mahal. Despite all of those obstacles, half of the casinos reported increases for the month,” he explained.
The internet sector saw some changes in business leadership results, with the Golden Nugget ousting Borgata as the best performer.
Golden Nugget online operations delivered $3.6 million compared with $3.3 million for the Borgata, $3.2 million for Caesars Interactive-NJ, $3 million for the Tropicana, and $2.9 million for Resorts Digital.
For the first nine months of this year, Atlantic City’s land casinos have seen their revenue increase by 1.6 percent, whilst Internet gambling revenue is up nearly 33 percent over the same period.
