Golden Nugget Online Gaming has a proven track record in New Jersey since 2013, long before the Covid-19 pandemic offered a jolt in business. With added success in Michigan and agreements to enter Colorado and Iowa, the company is not surprised over first quarter results which produced $26.7 million in revenue. The figure represented a 54 percent increase over the $17.3 million for the three months ending March 31, 2020.
“We feel increasingly confident about what Golden Nugget Online Gaming can be as we expand into our new geographic areas and continue to build our scale,” said GNOG CEO and Chairman Tillman Fertitta on May 18 during an earnings conference call.
Last year, Fertitta spun off GNOG as a separate public company from Golden Nugget Casinos. By then, the firm had added Pennsylvania to the mix, with additional agreements in Illinois and West Virginia signed in 2020, according to CDC Gaming Reports.
This year’s new agreements for online sports betting and iGaming involved Colorado through Maverick’s Z Casino, and Iowa through the Wild Rose Casino. Both await enabling legislation and approval by regulators.
“We’re now under agreements in geographies that represent nearly a third of the U.S. population,” Fertitta said. “Put very simply, we have a very strong playbook to run from based on our experience in New Jersey.”
GNOC President Thomas Winter said three factors drove the results in the first quarter: the growth of iGaming, player loyalty to the Golden Nugget brand and strong player acquisition and retention.
“In our first full month of operation (in Michigan), we generated $3.9 million in gross gaming revenue, which took us more than four years to achieve in New Jersey,” Winter said.
He expects to go live in four more states this year.
