February was a fruitful month for casinos in New Jersey and sportsbooks alike. Having generated an impressive 10.4% growth in revenue, no business owner would object to such a financial outcome. That said, only three out of nine NJ casinos in total outperformed their pre-COVID performance.
Today, we will look at what’s behind these New Jersey casino numbers and cover the key takeaways from a business point of view.
An Overview of New Jersey Casinos
To give you a better overview of the local casino scene, an interactive New Jersey casino map lists the local gambling establishments, their capacities, games on offer, tables available, accommodation options, and more. Kindly avail yourself to the following link for a complete list of New Jersey casinos: https://www.casinos.us/new-jersey/
The Core Aspect of the Business Remains Relatively Unchanged
Generally speaking, the combined efforts of NJ casinos and sportsbooks led to a 10.4% increase in revenue, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Looking at the specific segment of the business, namely revenue collected in person, reveals a slightly different pattern (there is only a slight increase in numbers). Interestingly, this particular segment remains at the core of the industry’s operations. In comparison, online gambling brought in $142.5m, a 10% year-on-year increase.
Casinos and Racetracks Brought in $412M in February
The combined efforts of NJ casinos and racetracks generated $412m in revenue for the month of February, and the numbers come from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement itself. Effectively, this makes for a 10.4% year-on-year increase. Keep in mind these figures include money generated through online platforms. Moreover, not all of the money is theirs to keep. An estimated 70% goes towards third parties.
On-site Gambling Brought in $215M
Casinos in New Jersey generated a total of $215m from on-site gambling activities. Impressive as it may sound, keep in mind it’s a mere 1.2% year-on-year increase. Remember that 6 out of 9 NJ casinos failed to reach the standard pre-COVID numbers. As for the best casino in New Jersey regarding revenue generated, the title goes to Borgata and its magnificent Beer Garden, followed by Hard Rock and Ocean. These three casinos surpassed the success they had in the pre-pandemic era.
A Disrupted Market Share
When asked to comment on the state of the industry, Jake Bokunewicz, director at the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University and a dedicated analyst of the Atlantic City gambling sphere, mentioned a disrupted market share that came to be as a result of adding two new NJ casinos to the already-established seven. He is noticing changes in how the local market share is distributed, noting that the two newest market entrants are doing particularly well.
The Market Leaders
Crowning the best casino in NJ can only be done by looking at the concrete numbers. Below you will find a complete list:
- Borgata ($57.4m revenue generated, an 8.8% increase)
- Ceasars ($19m revenue generated, an 1.4% increase)
- Golden Nugget ($11.1m revenue generated, a 14% decrease)
- Hard Rock ($37.5m revenue generated, a less than 1% increase)
- Harrah’s ($21.3m revenue generated, an 8.1% increase)
- Ocean ($26.2m revenue generated, an 11.5% decrease)
- Resorts ($12.6m revenue generated, a 2% decrease)
- Tropicana ($17.2m revenue generated, a slight 1% decrease)
- Bally’s ($12.2m revenue generated in-person, a 14.3% increase)
Adding the revenue generated through online platforms and sports betting to the equation, the figures look as follows:
- Bally’s ($18.1m revenue generated, a 49% increase)
- Borgata ($101.2m revenue generated, a 7.4% increase)
- Caesars ($19.2m revenue generated, a less than 1% increase)
- Golden Nugget ($47.8m revenue generated, similar to last year)
- Hard Rock ($44.4m revenue generated, a less than 1% decrease)
- Harrah’s (roughly $21m revenue generated, a 7.4% increase)
- Ocean ($30.1m revenue generated, a 2.2% decrease)
- Resorts ($12.6m revenue generated, a 5.4% decrease)
- Tropicana ($26.2m revenue generated)
Finally, for online-only New Jersey casino establishments, the list looks like this:
- -Resorts Digital ($48.2m revenue generated, a more than 25% increase)
- -Caesars Interactive NJ ($8.3m revenue generated, a decrease of 17.5%)
A Rebounding Industry
Although many considerations exist when scaling a business, the economy wakes up from a pandemic-induced slumber. Among other things, there is a certain shift in mentality, a good example of which are hospitality properties that are being renovated.
Recently, Borgata Hotel Casino announced that its The Water Club hotel would soon be known as the MGM Tower, a project worth $55m. Among other recent developments is Caesars Entertainment’s $400m remodel of three properties, and Ocean Casino Resort is following suit.
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
