December was a noteworthy month for Atlantic City Casinos, capping a year equally as remarkable for retail casino revenue.
According to data from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the city’s nine casinos generated $215.6 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR), marking their strongest December in 10 years.
Yearly GGR totaled $2.79 billion, up 9% from $2.55 billion in 2021.
Monthly total gaming revenue (including iGaming and sports wagering) grew 12.5% YoY, reaching $454.8 million from $404.1 million a year ago. In doing so, year-to-date total gaming revenue reached $5.21 billion, a 10% boost from 2021 ($4.74 billion).
Atlantic City December revenue by casino
The following table breaks down Atlantic City casino revenue by the property, including figures for table games, slots and poker.
Casino Table Games Poker Slot Machines Total Gaming Win
Bally's $3,586,863 $ - $7,367,852 $10,954,715
Borgata $18,906,858 $1,309,829 $40,272,630 $60,489,317
Caesars $4,800,621 $ - $11,807,014 $16,607,635
Golden Nugget $1,712,146 $ - $9,181,144 $10,893,290
Hard Rock $11,497,855 $ - $25,953,181 $37,451,036
Harrah's $3,707,783 $303,089 $16,224,012 $20,234,884
Ocean Casino $8,102,898 $ - $21,387,217 $29,490,115
Resorts $3,296,569 $- $7,941,178 $11,237,747
Tropicana $4,316,649 $102,819 $13,853,340 $18,272,808
Total $59,928,242 $1,715,737 $153,987,568 $215,631,547
Borgata accounts for more than one-quarter of state revenue
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa reported $60.5 million in GGR in December, leading the state in slots, table games and poker. Its revenue increased by 10% from November and 11.4% from December 2021.
Hard Rock Hotel Casino Atlantic City ($37.5 million; +5.4% YoY) rebounded after a down November, showing monthly and yearly increases. Ocean Casino Resort ($29.5 million; +11.3% YoY) crushed last December’s figures but dipped from November’s $31 million in GGR.
The following five casinos all saw year-over-year GGR declines in December:
- Harrah’s: $20.2 million (-15% YoY)
- Tropicana: $18.3 million (-5.4% YoY)
- Caesars: $16.6 million (-12.8% YoY)
- Resorts: $11.2 million (-2.4% YoY)
- Bally’s: $11 million (-1.9% YoY)
Golden Nugget rounded out the list of operators with $10.9 million in GGR for December (+2.5% YoY).
Despite five of nine casinos showing year-over-year declines, monthly casino GGR improved by 1.8% from $211.8 million in December 2021, thanks mainly to Borgata, Hard Rock and Ocean.
Atlantic City yearly revenue by casino
In October, AC casino revenue was projected to surpass $2.75 billion for the year. A relatively solid December confirmed that number at $2.79 billion.
All three Caesars properties experienced small declines in yearly growth, with Harrah’s (-3.2%) falling the farthest. The other six casinos stayed in the black.
- Borgata: $724.4 million (+19.5%)
- Hard Rock: $492.4 million (+14.2%)
- Ocean: $356.8 million (+16.3%)
- Harrah’s: $257.9 million (-3.2%)
- Tropicana: $248.8 million (-1.8%)
- Caesars: $235.3 million (-0.7%)
- Resorts: $167.3 million (+0.8%)
- Bally’s: $153.9 million (+9.4%)
- Golden Nugget: $148.8 million (+1.8%)
Retail casinos are growing, but iGaming is growing even more
Retail casinos accounted for just under half of December’s total revenue (47.4%) and just over half of the year’s total revenue (53.6%). Their 9% growth was the second-strongest among all verticals.
Yearly revenue by vertical:
- Retail casinos: $2.79 billion (+9% YoY)
- iGaming: $1.66 billion (+21.6% YoY)
- Sports wagering: $293.7 million (-3.7% YoY)
- Sports wagering at NJ racetracks: $469.2 million (-8.1% YoY)
- Total revenue: $5.21 billion (+10% YoY)
While horse racing and sports wagering saw year-over-year declines, retail casino and iGaming (including online poker) grew enough to more than offset them.
Online gaming accounted for 35% of yearly GGR and grew more than 20% year-over-year, showing its significance to the market, even after COVID lockdowns are long behind us.
According to Jane Bokunewicz of Stockton University’s LIGHT, New Jersey’s diverse gaming options were crucial for its success in 2022 and potential growth in 2023 and beyond. Overall, revenue totals rivaled 2006 (before the 2007-08 recession hit).
Bokunewicz added, “Looking forward to 2023, Atlantic City’s operators are expected to continue diversifying and evolving both their gaming and nongaming offerings to deliver a competitive customer experience in an increasingly crowded regional gaming market.”
