ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey casinos, race tracks that accept sports bets and their online partners took in nearly $510 million from gamblers in May, up 8.3% from a year earlier, according to figures released Friday by the state’s gambling regulator.
Internet gambling continued to perform well in May, although slightly below the levels recorded in March.
Winnings from in-person gamblers, the casinos’ main business, combined exceeded the totals from May 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, but only three of nine casinos won more from in-person gamblers last month than they did in May 2019.
“May marked a bright start to the summer season and positive momentum is building,” New Jersey Casino Control Commission Chairman James Prussis said in a statement. “Consumer interest is growing due to recent, unique and must-see investments in casino hotels.”
Jane Bochnevich, director of Stockton University’s Lloyd Levenson Institute, which studies Atlantic City’s gambling industry, said in a statement that while the total revenues are encouraging, they don’t necessarily mean casinos are becoming more profitable.
“While revenues have increased, so have expenses. While revenues this month and so far this year have been strong compared to prior periods, they may not translate into similar increases in gross operating income in future periods,” she said. “Inflation impacts operators in the form of cost of goods and wages, and also impacts consumers in the form of prices. As such, it is particularly interesting to see that consumers appear willing to spend their discretionary dollars with New Jersey casino operators, even at a time of inflationary pressures.”
According to figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the nine casinos took in nearly $223 million from in-person gamblers, up 5.2 percent from a year ago.
Casinos consider this type of revenue to be their core business because any money won from sports betting or internet gambling must be shared with third parties, including technology platforms and sportsbooks, and cannot be kept solely by the casino.
However, only three casinos – the Borgata, Ocean and Hard Rock – made more money from in-person gamblers last month than they did in May 2019, an ongoing concern for Atlantic City’s entire casino industry.
In terms of visitor takings, Borgata took in $61.4 million, up 1.5% from last year, Hard Rock took in nearly $50 million, up 28.6%, Ocean took in nearly $32 million, up 7.5%, Tropicana took in $20.1 million, down 7%, Harrah’s took in $18.2 million, down 4.2%, Caesars took in nearly $18 million, down 2%, Resorts took in $13.6 million, up 1.2%, Golden Nugget took in $13.5 million, up 7.1%, and Bally’s took in $12.4 million, down 5.8%.
Including sports and internet gambling revenue, Borgata was down 0.3% to $111 million, Golden Nugget was up 21.2% to $68.1 million, Hard Rock was up 32.6% to $64 million, Tropicana was up 16.5% to $39.3 million, Ocean was up 16.5% to $39.1 million, Bally’s was up 14.3% to $23 million, Harrah’s was up 4% to $19.8 million, Caesars was down 5% to $17.5 million and Resorts was down 0.4% to $13.5 million.
Among internet-only companies, Resorts Digital gained 17.6 percent to $71.3 million, while Caesars Interactive Entertainment New Jersey took in $332,123, down 96 percent.
Casinos and race tracks generated about $839 million in sports betting revenue in May, of which they kept $78.7 million as revenue after paying out winnings.
Casinos and race tracks have taken in more than $6 billion in sports betting so far this year, keeping $513 million of that revenue.
Internet gambling brought in $192 million in May, up 19% from a year ago and slightly below the $197 million recorded in March.
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