[toc]The news for Atlantic City casino revenue continues to be good, as January numbers show an uptick for the New Jersey gaming industry on the back of strong online gambling metrics. The month also saw massive gains for Caesars AC.
The picture in January for AC casinos
The newest filings with the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement painted a rosy picture for the remaining casinos in AC in the wake of a spate of casino closures in recent years.
Total gaming win for the industry in January came in at $204.7 million, compared to $190.1 million for January 2016, reflecting a 7.7 percent increase. That’s despite the absence of the Trump Taj Mahal this January, which closed in the fall.
When you include only current operators — taking the Taj Mahal out of the equation — the picture becomes even brighter. Total casino revenue increased 15.2 percent when you take that casino out of the January 2016 figures.
The state collected $16.5 million in taxes on gaming for the month.
Online gambling continues to show growth
The revenue for land-based casinos was up, hitting $185.9 million, reflecting a 5.9 percent increase year over year.
But internet gambling continues to impress in New Jersey, with revenue increasing nearly 30 percent year over year, from $14.6 million to $18.8 million. Simply put, the online gambling market shows little sign of slowing down, nearly hitting the $19 million mark for the first time.
The more important realization is that if you took online gambling out of the mix, the story might be very different for the bottom line of AC. It seems clear that online gambling continues to be casinos’ saving graces, just like it was throughout 2016.
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Winners and losers for NJ casinos
Who did well and poorly in January? Every casino saw revenue increase YoY. But still, some casinos did much better than others.
- The biggest shocker is the massive growth for Caesars. The casino saw an increase of more than 40 percent in gaming revenue, or about $8 million. Online gambling saw a similar uptick, up about $800,000 to more than $4 million in total revenue.
- Beyond Caesars, both Tropicana (up 15 percent) and Borgata (up 16 percent) had good months, as well. They were up about $3 million and $8 million, respectively. Borgata continues to have a corner on about a third of the casino market.
- Things weren’t all rosy at Borgata. Online gambling revenue fell by 17 percent, dropping it to third in that part of the market.
- Bally’s and Harrah’s both had extremely modest increases in revenue, up only about a percent each.