New Jersey sees record-breaking online gambling revenues in November

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New Jersey’s online gambling and sports betting revenue has reached record highs in November, signaling a shift in the Atlantic City gambling scene away from traditional casinos.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported that casinos and their tech partners netted over $171.5 million from online table games and slots. Simultaneously, casinos and three horse tracks accepting sports bets amassed a record-breaking $1.62 billion in wagers in November.

Combining in-person, online and sports betting earnings from casinos and three racetracks, the total November winnings reached $482.4 million. This is an increase of 9.4 percent from the previous year.

In terms of overall gambling revenue, market leader Borgata earned over $97 million in November, an 8.6 percent decline from a year earlier. Golden Nugget saw a nearly 25 percent increase at $61 million, Hard Rock surpassed $52.4 million — up over 26 percent, and Ocean earned $36.7 million, up 5.7 percent.

Complementary to traditional casinos

In November, internet and sports betting, which constituted approximately 45 percent of Atlantic City’s revenue, provided evidence of this change. Jane Bokunewicz, Director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, sees these trends as complementary to in-person casinos rather than direct competition.

“Rather than diminishing the brick-and-mortar gaming revenues, internet gaming and sports betting seem to be well-received consumer products that are filling a niche for certain gamblers,” Bokunewicz said.

“There will never be a replacement for the in-person gaming experience, and the current relatively flat revenues from brick-and-mortar gaming may be simply evidence of a stable market."

The impact of the surge in online and sports betting on overall casino profitability remains uncertain. Revenue from these avenues, shared with partners like sports books and tech platforms, is not solely kept by the casinos. This underscores why casinos consider money from in-person gamblers as their primary business.

However, this key business is still below pre-pandemic levels. In November, only Hard Rock and the Ocean Casino resort, among the nine New Jersey casinos, surpassed their in-person gambling revenue from November 2019.