New Jersey casinos win $352.2 M in April

It’s a whopping 326.4% year-over-year increase, but April 2021 is basically not comparable with April 2020 as Gov. Phil Murphy had shuttered Atlantic City’s nine casinos in response to the pandemic.

While the brick-and-mortar properties were closed, the state’s online casinos generated $82.6 million. Every facet of the online gambling market saw increases since then.

Internet gaming win was up 34.8% with online operators pulling in $107.7 million last month. April’s online numbers are holding up near March’s record highs when online casinos won $113.7 million.
Sports wagering revenue was $54.8 million and while there is no exact figure on how much was wagered online, it’s estimated that 80% of sports bets in the Garden State are placed virtually.

Every New Jersey online gambling operator posted increases in revenue. Borgata’s online platform saw the biggest jump with a 106.8% bump in revenue, raking in $32.8 million. It was the highest grossing operator online, edging out Golden Nugget Online Gaming’s $32.4 million.

The Golden Nugget is generally the most profitable online casino in the state. By comparison, it won $27.6 million a year ago and was far and away the most profitable company in the space. Resorts Digital, owner of PokerStars New Jersey, was the next closest with $16.1 million in revenue.

Brick-and-mortar casinos won $189.6 million with $138 million coming from slot machines and the remaining $51.6 million from table games. This was done while operating at a reduced capacity, but that will change starting Wednesday.

At the beginning of May, Murphy announced that he would allow Atlantic City casinos to operate at full capacity on May 19. The pent-up demand that led to U.S. casinos generating $11.1 billion in the first quarter should also drive the New Jersey markets higher as more people return to casinos.

Borgata was not only the best online casino but was the won the most in the live arena as well. The MGM-owned property netted $38.5 million in gambling revenue. Hard Rock Atlantic City was the only other property above the $30 million mark as it won $35.2 million from gamblers. Golden Nugget pulled in the least revenue of all nine casinos with just over $11 million.

The New Jersey gambling market has won $1.35 billion year-to-date.

By Steve Schult