Atlantic City has bounced back after a heavy July 2023. August 2023 has become a month for recovery, with wins amounting to $280.2 million. James Plousis, the Chair of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, has expressed confidence that the city will have a stronger year. What strengthens this statement is the fact that the gaming revenue for Atlantic City is way above $500 million for the second time in history.
Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) decreased by 13% during the month of July. Now, nine physical venues have contributed to the revival. Slot machines earned $210.5 million, while table games earned $69.7 million. This represents a 2.3% increase from the prior year.
It also signifies that slot titles have been favorites among the gaming community. The mark for August, specifically for slot machines, is the highest since 2012. The overall mark of $280.2 million is only behind the one that was achieved nine years ago.
Land-based venues and interactive gaming have seen an increase in revenue. This relates to the interactive gaming industry, which registered approximately $155.2 million from remote participants. This represents an 18% increase from the previous year. Compared to August 2022, sports betting income increased by 47%. The sportsbooks could keep $96 million of the $725.9 million wagered.
In terms of GGR, New Jersey is a high-earning state alongside Pennsylvania and Nevada. The casinos in Atlantic City generated $531.6 million without incurring any losses from sportsbooks and iGaming sites.
According to the latest casino news, James has also stated that the summer has been encouraging for the region since the win and gaming revenue reached their highest levels in the past 10 years. Except for a few operators, everyone in the segment has been able to register a growing result.
While the industry appears to be as vibrant as a sunny day, according to the ground report, operators have found the performance to be somewhat disingenuous. This is because most of the revenue is divided with third parties such as DraftKings and FanDuel. Inflation and labor costs are additional contributors to their growth. GGR is up 11%, whereas the growth of tangible venues is up only 2.3% when the same eight months of 2022 are considered.
Making this more evident is the fact that even though the net revenue for the first half of the current year has reached $1.6 billion by 1.5%, the profit margin has only declined by 18% to touch the figure of $281.4 million. Net revenue complies with numbers from the sale of beverages and food, gaming, and hotel rooms.
Simply stated, Atlantic City rebounded in August 2023, but this does not reflect the individual performances of venues in terms of their financial results. For the industry and its administrators, James’s words do inspire optimism for a brighter future.