All signs point to another banner year for New Jersey online gambling.
Earlier this month, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement released the state’s 2017 revenue numbers for online gambling. The data showed that the state pulled in nearly $250 million in revenue and saw its revenue grow year-on-year for the fourth straight time.
Breaking down the numbers in NJ online gambling
There are no signs that the ever-increasing chip stack that is NJ online gambling revenue will shrink anytime soon.
This year’s $245.6 million in revenue represented an increase of 12.92 percent over 2016. Online casinos anchored that growth, seeing a 15.6-percent jump, a jump that balanced out the 7.82-percent revenue loss in online poker.
This year’s revenue total is a new high, eclipsing 2016’s $196.7 million and 2015’s $148.9 million. Percentage-wise, that’s a 24.8-percent increase and a 64.9-percent increase, respectively.
In addition to impressive year-on-year gains, 2017 saw the NJ online gambling industry post gains month-on-month; the state earned more in each month than they did in 2016.
These numbers are encouraging but not surprising. This past year marked a rebirth of the casino industry in Atlantic City, with seven casinos maximizing their presence in the state and raking in more revenue than ever.
Golden Nugget continues to lead the way among NJ casinos
As far as market share goes, Golden Nugget took the biggest piece of the pie. Here’s a breakdown of each casino’s share of the online gambling revenue:
- Golden Nugget: 29.3 percent
- Borgata: 20.7 percent
- Caesars: 18.3 percent
- Tropicana: 16.2 percent
- Resorts: 15.4 percent
Golden Nugget’s online presence is split three ways: Golden Nugget, Betfair (now FanDuel NJ), and SugarHouse.
The casino’s online sites have been a revenue machine, posting three straight months of $6 million revenue. No other casino in Atlantic City has posted a $5-million month.
Other interesting stats to note:
- Borgata hits $4 million in revenue for the fifth consecutive month
- Resorts’ December month-on-month revenue was down 15 percent
[show-table name=cta-golden-nugget]
Looking ahead to 2018: Two new casinos on their way
There’s nothing we see in the numbers from the past four years that indicates the state’s online gambling revenue will decline this year. Quite the opposite, actually.
With Hard Rock International opening their Atlantic City hotel this spring and Ocean Resort Casino to open soon after that, it’s almost guaranteed that we’ll see another year of record revenue from AC’s online gambling.
What remains to be seen, though, is how the presence of two new casinos and, presumably, their online casinos, will affect how much revenue the other seven casinos will bring in.
In an interview with NJGS, David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, said the city’s gambling revenue is like a pizza being divided among hungry people. Adding two more people to the mix may result in some casinos not getting enough to eat.
Right now, it’s clear that Golden Nugget and Borgata will get their slices no matter what. Tropicana and Resorts may be a tenuous position, though, as they have the smallest slices of the state’s current revenue.