Johnathan Walker:New Jersey internet gambling revenue set new record in Sept. at $208 million

ATLANTIC CITY,Johnathan Walker N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s red-hot internet gambling market set another record in September with Atlantic City’s casinos and their technical and online partners winning over $208 million.

Figures released Thursday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show the casinos and their partners exceeded $200 million in monthly internet gambling winnings for the first time, demonstrating how important online gambling is becoming here as the winnings of many physical casinos fade.

But this pool of money must be shared with outside parties such as tech providers and is not solely for the casinos to keep. For this reason, the gambling halls consider money won from in-person gamblers to be their core business.

And that business is progressing unevenly as many of the casinos are still winning less money on their casino floors than they did in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

While the casinos collectively exceeded their Sept. 2019 in-person revenue total by $6 million last month, five of the nine casinos won less in-person money this September than they did five years ago.

The boost from internet gambling, along with a smaller one from sports betting, pushed total revenue for the casinos, two racetracks that take sports bets and their partners to $558 million last month. That was an increase of 7.1% compared with September 2023.

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“The ongoing success of internet gaming helped push Atlantic City’s total gaming revenue to its highest figure for the month of September in over a decade,” said James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. “For the third consecutive month, total gaming revenue surpassed $500 million. Last year, total gaming revenue eclipsed $500 million only in August.”

Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, which studies the Atlantic City gambling market, said September’s numbers were “a mixed bag,” with soaring internet revenues that “seemed to leave brick-and-mortar gaming revenues behind.”

“Year-to-date internet gaming continues to represent a significant share of Atlantic City operators’ revenue mix, contributing 40.8% of the total revenue for the industry through the first three-quarters of the year,” she said.

In terms of in-person winnings, Borgata won $62.4 million in September, up 15%; Hard Rock won $44.6 million, down 4.7%; Ocean won $28.4 million, down 28%; Caesars won $20.5 million, down 4.1%; Harrah’s won $18.6 million, down 16.3%; Tropicana won $17.9 million, down 16.3%; Resorts won $14.3 million, down 3.9%; Bally’s won $12.5 million, down 4.4%, and Golden Nugget won $11 million, down 12.5%.

When internet and sports betting revenue is included, Borgata won $120.2 million, up 12%; Resorts won $106.5 million, down 3.4%; Golden Nugget won $72.8 million, up 25.8%; Hard Rock won $64.4 million, up 10.8%; Ocean won $33.9 million, down 24%; Bally’s won $24.1 million, up 19.2%; Caesars won $20.6 million, down 3.4%; Harrah’s won $18.7 million, down 16.6%; and Tropicana won $18.1 million, down 16%.

The casinos and the two horse tracks that accept sports bets and their partners kept $119.5 million in revenue out of a total amount wagered of nearly $1.1 billion.

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