[toc]Atlantic City casino revenues were up in May of this year, thanks in large part to a huge boost from New Jersey online gambling sites.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement released numbers last week showing revenue from Atlantic City’s seven operating casinos hit $208.3 million in May. This represented a 2.5 percent year-over-year increase from May 2016.
In fact, $203.3 million in revenue was recorded in May of 2016 by eight Atlantic City casinos. Trump Taj Mahal was still operating in May 2016. The property closed its doors in October 2016.
NJ online gambling revenue sees huge jump
The increase was aided by a huge jump in online gaming revenue in New Jersey. In fact, New Jersey internet gaming revenues were up 27.3 percent over the same month last year. Internet gaming revenues reached $21,071,248 in May 2017. This compared to $16,546,158 in May 2016.
The MGM Resorts-owned Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa continued to set the pace in the AC casino industry. It posted total gaming revenues of $71,864,876. This represented a 10.6 percent increase over the $65 million posted by the property in May 2016.
Borgata has been the Atlantic City market leader in total gaming revenue since it opened in 2003.
Borgata falls online as Golden Nugget surges
However, online gaming revenues are suddenly telling a different story. Online gambling sites operating under Borgata’s license were revenue leaders from the launch of the market until the end of 2016. But they fell from the top spot in the first quarter of 2017. In fact, in May 2017, these sites fell to fifth place on a list of five licensees.
Online casino sites operating under the Golden Nugget internet gaming license have risen to the top. In fact, these sites posted $5,915,167 in online gaming revenues in May 2017.
These sites include Golden Nugget’s own online casino, the Betfair NJ online casino (now FanDuel NJ) and PlaySugarHouse. PlaySugarHouse is a New Jersey online casino site run by Philadelphia, PA’s SugarHouse Casino.
This group combined to post a massive 84.8 percent year-over-year revenue increase last month.
In the meantime, Borgata’s online casino and poker site revenues actually dropped 11.4 percent. In fact, the sites were leapfrogged by those operating under the licenses of Caesars Interactive NJ, Resorts Digital, and Tropicana. Tropicana’s sister site is VirginCasino.com.
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Hope springs eternal
Alas, hope for Borgata’s ailing online gambling sites is in the works. Partner Pala Interactive, which already operates an online casino, launched an online poker site under Borgata’s license this month.
Pala Interactive is the online gambling division of the California-based Pala Band of Mission Indians.
Plus, MGM Resorts International bought out partner Boyd Gaming Corporation’s interest in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in 2016. The company then announced last month it will be launching its own online casino and poker sites under the playMGM brand before the end of 2017.