New Jersey Gaming Sees 9.4% Revenue Increase in May

Casinos and horse tracks in New Jersey that offer casino gaming, sports betting, and iGaming have reported almost $471 million in May earnings. This is a 9.4% increase from the previous year, with gaming regulators releasing the latest totals this week.

In-person earnings continue to show a decline, which is a concern for operators and regulators. Casinos showed a 2.4% drop from May 2022, with $227.3 million generated. Only three casinos were able to show an increase in in-person earnings last month.

The summer months have grown quite slow at New Jersey Casinos for the past few years. Slots and table games do not have the appeal they once had, and venues in Atlantic City are slowing down with their earning potential.

In May 2022, the city’s casinos generated $233 million in earnings from land-based visits; this year, the total has dropped to $227.3 million. It’s significant because each year, we have seen a similar drop. Since iGaming has come into the picture, it has helped with the decrease and acted as a distraction.

Officials are just now connecting the dots and must devise a way to bring in more physical visitors before totals drop even more. Despite the monthly decrease, the market is above levels from 2019, which was just over $222 million, and of course, was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism faculty director Jane Bokunewicz commented that physical slots and table games are not growing as quickly as online slots and mobile sports betting. She points out that this could signify that players have traded the newer products for the traditional casino experience.

So far this year, the casinos in Atlantic City have generated over $1.1 billion from physical visits. This is more than last year, showing that players still want to travel to New Jersey and enjoy the gaming industry.

Only a few casinos were able to see a year-over-year increase in earnings. Ocean Casino Resort was up 17.3%, with $29.8 million in earnings. The casino has seen an almost 19% jump this year, with $155 million generated so far.

Bally’s Atlantic City also saw a jump, pushing over 4% more this year with $13.2 million in earnings. The company is under new ownership and has invested over $100 million to improve the casino.

Market leader Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa always does well but has seen a dip this month. The casino earned over $60 million but dropped by 4.5% when compared to last year. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City was also down, earning only $38.8 million in May, which is a decrease of 6.5%.

Caesars, Harrah’s, and Tropicana all saw poor earnings with varying decreases in revenues. Each casino seems to remain around the $20 million mark and has not seen any growth for several years. Caesars generated just over $18 million, an almost 10% decrease from last year. Harrah’s was down over 10% with $19 million in earnings.

Tropicana saw the smallest decrease of 0.2% with $21.6 million in earnings. All three casinos have seen upgrades over the past few years, with over $400 million spent between them. New amenities and renovations have taken place within the past two years.

Resorts and Golden Nugget also saw a decrease in earnings. Resorts were down 5% in May, with just under $13.5 million. Golden Nugget brought in $12.7 million, which was a small drop from the $12.8 million from the previous year.