A strong April in New Jersey’s nine casinos did little to dampen the enthusiasm for internet gaming, a godsend for New Jersey during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Associated Press.
The casinos took in nearly $108 million from internet gambling in April, based on figures released May 14 by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. That’s an increase of 35 percent from April 2020, a time when online gaming was the only option with casinos shut down. New Jersey drew in less than $80 million in April last year and just $36 million in April 2019, according to NJBIZ.com.
Yet online gaming revenue slipped slightly from March and bricks-and-mortar gambling ticked up slightly, said Jane Bokunewicz, coordinator of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University.
The casinos won nearly $190 million from in-person gamblers in April. They brought in nearly $185 million in March. Of the almost $748 million sports betting handle in April—down somewhat from March—the casinos held about $55 million as revenue.
“This could be an early indication of a balance shift back to in-person gaming,” Bokunewicz said. “While operators will no longer need to rely solely on internet gaming revenue, it is poised to remain a significant share of the casino gaming revenue mix.”
Overall gambling revenue almost quadrupled in April compared to the prior year. The casinos and three tracks took in $352.2 million in April, up from $82.5 million last April, which includes sports betting.
“This time last year, Atlantic City’s casino hotels were in the midst of a 3½-month closure due to the pandemic,” said James Plousis, Casino Control Commission chairman. “Using April 2019 as a benchmark, the casino industry’s results in April are up more than 27 percent. Casino win was lower than April 2019, which was expected given the capacity restrictions that have contributed to the safe return of in-person gaming.”
The market-leading Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa won more than $78 million from gamblers in April. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City won $41.8 million; Tropicana Atlantic City won $26.7 million; Ocean Casino Resort won $25.2 million; Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City won $20.7 million; Caesars Atlantic City won $18.6 million; Resorts Casino Hotel won $13.3 million; Golden Nugget Atlantic City won $11.2 million; and Bally’s Atlantic City won $11.1 million.
Hard Rock’s gambling revenue in its casino rose more than 50 percent compared to April 2019, the last April the casinos were open.
“With Covid-19 numbers and vaccination rates headed in the right direction, we are optimistic about a safe return to normalcy this summer at the Jersey Shore,” said President Joe Lupo
Restrictions are lifting, areas of business are reopening and summer is about to begin, said Terry Glebocki, CEO of Ocean, whose revenue jumped some 2,000 percent from a year ago. “On the heels of a successful year, we are optimistic about the future of our casino resort and the return of tourism to Atlantic City.”
