New Jersey’s impressive performance in April showed that the gambling industry generated about $500 million in revenue from casinos, horse racing tracks with sports betting operations, and their online affiliate organisations. The state authorities reported an increase of 10.4% compared to the same period last year. The surge is primarily due to the substantial growth of online gaming, recording its second-highest income in history during that time.
The whole income earned by the combination of live betting, online gambling, and sports wagering was around $511 million. Nevertheless, there was a significant drop in the primary source of income from physical casinos. As per the reports from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, there was a 6.3% fall in revenue compared to last year.
The fact that the number of people who gamble online is on the rise worries traditional gambling houses as they are still struggling to get visitors to their real-life premises. The rise of online platforms and sports betting operations has created more obstacles for these casinos as they have to share their profits with various tech companies and bookmakers who are their partners.
It is visible that the environment is changing, and digital platforms are becoming more important to the industry’s profitability. Nevertheless, the problems of physical casinos are still very serious. Six out of nine casinos showed a decrease in revenue from traditional gambling compared to last year and April 2019 before the start of the pandemic. This drop indicates the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on consumer behaviour and the gaming industry.
Jane Bokunewicz, the head of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, usually sees a rise in visitors during summer. Nevertheless, it is forecasted that there will also be a substantial change in the place where Atlantic City gets its revenue. The reason for this is that casino companies are now paying more attention to developing non-gambling facilities such as restaurants and entertainment options to attract visitors. This situation is proof of their resistance to the new market trends and the coming competition from New York City’s increasing casino industry.
The financial reports of each casino show different results. Borgata slightly increased on-site gaming revenues; it was $58.3 million, which is only 0.5% more than the previous year. Nonetheless, the Ocean Casino Resort suffered a massive drop of 15.6% in its on-site revenue after it had been closed for four days because of technological updates. On the contrary, casinos such as Hard Rock and Tropicana showed positive outcomes, with an on-site revenue of 6% for Hard Rock and a total revenue increase of almost 28% for Tropicana due to its thriving online operations.
Besides, the world of virtual betting grew in the online sphere, with the industry bringing in $188 million, an incredible 18.2% more than the previous year. Moreover, the sports betting market recorded over $1 billion worth of monthly bets and generated $106 million in revenue after deducting all required costs. The Meadowlands Racetrack was undoubtedly the star in this category, raking in the most significant part of the sports betting revenue of $73.1 million.
New Jersey’s gambling sector trends are currently showing a crucial transition period. Land-based casinos are being overtaken by online gambling and entertainment diversity. Simultaneously with this transformation of the industry, the emphasis is more on innovations and augmentation of popularity to ensure the continuation of development and competitiveness under adverse economic conditions.
