The gambling revenue report for March is another example of ‘”good news, bad news” for Atlantic City casinos.
The amount won by the casinos from in-person gamblers increased 5.6% last month compared to March of last year. According to data from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, AC’s nine casinos reported more than $228.6 million in revenue from tables and slots.
However, four casinos generated less revenue in March than they did a year ago, one property was flat and two operators reported growth of 3.1% or less. The monthly year-over-year increase in land-based gambling revenue can be attributed almost entirely to one casino’s 36.1% rise.
Only three casinos generated more in-person revenue in March 2023 than in March 2019, one by a shade over $2 million, underscoring the point that Atlantic City casinos have not recovered from the pandemic’s economic impacts.
| Casino/Licensee | Land-based Revenue | YoY % Change | Online Revenue | YoY % Change | Sports Betting Revenue | YoY % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bally's | $10,550,249 | - 21.7% | $6,742,392 | 274.6% | $61,550 | 40% |
| Borgata | $61,502,582 | 11.9% | $43,912,679 | 6.2% | $8,152,991 | - 23.1% |
| Caesars | $17,140,999 | - 7.2% | $ --- | --- | - $119,056 | - 127% |
| Caesars Interactive | $ --- | --- | $8,427,026 | - 15.2% | $ --- | --- |
| Golden Nugget | $12,266,501 | - 2.8% | $42,709,332 | 11.6% | $104,033 | - 52.7% |
| Hard Rock | $39,967,383 | 1.7% | $6,832,131 | 19.5% | $2,979,154 | 234.9% |
| Harrah's | $20,622,053 | 3.1% | $ --- | --- | - $22,591 | - 112.4% |
| Ocean | $34,605,232 | 36.1% | $4,605,260 | 96% | $372,886 | 124.9% |
| Resorts | $12,659,347 | - 2.6% | $ --- | --- | - $80,488 | - 523.6% |
| Resorts Digital | $ --- | --- | $44,867,111 | 45.5% | $29,792,977 | 153.6% |
| Tropicana | $19,333,383 | 0% | $7,615,894 | - 26.5% | $5,420,268 | 312.8% |
| Total | $228,647,729 | 5.6% | $165,711,825 | 17.8% | $46,661,724 | 82.1% |
Atlantic City casinos revenue breakdown
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa continues to be the AC market leader. The Marina District property generated $61.5 million from tables and slots in March. Borgata is celebrating its 20th anniversary this summer.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City is still firmly in the No. 2 spot, but its usual YoY percentage increase was less impressive last month. Hard Rock posted a modest 1.7% bump to $39.9 million in March.
Ocean Casino Resort has separated itself from the AC pack in the last two years. Ocean reported $34.6 million in land-based win, an increase of more than 36% from March 2022.
Hard Rock and Ocean are celebrating their fifth anniversaries this year. Both Boardwalk casinos opened on June 27, 2018.
Meanwhile, both Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City and Tropicana Atlantic City stopped a monthly skid of YoY declines in March. Harrah’s generated $20.6 million, an uptick of 3.1% compared to last year, while Trop’s $19.3 million kept its YoY essentially unchanged. Caesars Atlantic City (all three are operated by Caesars Entertainment) saw in-person revenue drop 7.2% to $17.1 million.
Bally’s Atlantic City ($10.5 million, -21.7%), Golden Nugget Atlantic City ($12.3 million, -2.8%) and Resorts Casino Hotel ($12.7 million, -2.6%) were treading water in March. All three were buoyed by their online divisions, which saw gains.
Trenton happy as gambling tax collections continue to go up
State tax collections continue to outpace projections due to consistent growth of the higher-taxed online gaming segments.
Year-to-date, NJ has collected $139.5 million in taxes, with $97 million coming from internet casino, poker and sports gambling. That online tax figure is 19.5% more than last year, 40.5% higher than two years ago and 330% more than pre-pandemic-2019.
New Jersey collected nearly $25 million in taxes from online casino and poker revenue in March. For the year, online gambling taxes (excluding sports betting) have added $69.3 million to state coffers. By comparison, Atlantic City casinos have paid $41.8 million in taxes from in-person gambling revenues this year.
Big picture of NJ gambling industry looks good
Taken as a whole, the state’s gambling industry is healthy.
Total gaming revenue — the sum of land-based, online and sports betting — reported by AC’s nine casinos and two licensed internet entities was slightly more than $441 million, a YoY increase of 15.2%. Adding in sports betting revenue from the state’s licensed racetracks, the statewide total gaming revenue in March was just shy of $488 million.
Year-to-date, total gambling revenue from AC casinos and their online partners is $1.2 billion, up 11.5% compared to 2022. Combined with racetrack sports wagering, this year’s $1.34 billion is 13.4% higher than last year’s first quarter.
NJ internet gaming, sports betting probing up industry
Online gambling revenue in March set a new monthly record with more than $165.7 million. Compared to the same month last year, online revenue rose by almost 18%. Although online gaming figures are reported under AC casinos, most winnings go to third-party operators.
Online gaming revenue in NJ has exceeded $100 million for 26 of the last 27 months and 25 consecutively.
Revenue from online gambling (excluding sports betting) accounted for 38% of March’s total reported by the casinos and their digital partners. In March 2019, one year before the coronavirus pandemic closed AC’s nine casinos, online gaming revenue only accounted for 14.3% of the monthly total.
Online sports betting averages between 90% and 94% of the monthly handle (the total amount bet) in NJ. But, revenue is reported under the licenses of AC casinos or sanctioned racetracks.
The $93 million in sports betting revenue last month was the third-highest reporting period in NJ history. AC’s casinos and their online partners reported $46.6 million of the total, a Y-o-Y increase of 82.1%.
