New Jersey iGaming Revenues Rise 26% in January

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Tuesday, February 16th, 2016 | Written by Charles Washington

After New Jersey’s online gambling market enjoyed a positive 2015 in which revenues finished higher by 21% at $149 million, the state has started 2016 on solid ground once more. According to the latest report produced by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE), iGaming revenues came in at $14.6 million in January, representing a 25.8% increase compared to the $11.6 million that was generated in the same month in 2015.

When the figures are added to Atlantic City’s land-based casino results, however, the state still experienced a 3.8% decline in business, with revenues falling to $190.1 million from $197.6 million last January.

Record iGambling Revenues of $14.6m

In January, New Jersey’s iGaming market once more set a new monthly record with revenues rising to an impressive $14.6 million. That figure includes both iCasino and iPoker results, with increased business in the former off-setting the declining fortunes of the latter. Overall, iCasino recorded a 34.6% rise in earning to roughly $12.5m, while iPoker revenues dipped 6.4% to $2.15m.

iGambling Revenues per Operation

Borgata (Borgata, Party, Pala): Leading the way in terms of revenues was the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which saw its business surge 19% to $4.6m from January 2015’s figure of of $3.8m. Online casinos produced $3.4m of that tally, while iPoker accounted for the remaining $1.2m

Caesars (888, Caesars, Harrah’s, WSOP): Caesars generated around $3.2m in January, a 16% improvement year-on-year, with its online casino collecting $2.27m, up 29% from the same month last year, but iPoker contributing just $952k.

Tropicana (Tropicana, Virgin): Tropicana’s iCasino only operation generated $2.9m in revenues, up 14% from last January.

Golden Nugget (Golden Nugget, Betfair): Despite earning $2.5m, the Golden Nugget was the only one of New Jersey’s iGaming operators to report a decline in year-over-year revenues.

Resorts AC (Resorts, Mohegan Sun): The states newest iGaming operation generated $1.43m last month, and while no year-over-year comparisons are available, that figure was still higher by 10% from December 2015.

iPoker Market Contracts 6.4%

Following a familiar trend, while online casino revenues continue to soar, online poker went in the opposite direction with revenues declining by 6.4% to $2.15m. The news is troubling for New Jersey’s iPoker industry as the state reported an uptick in players signing up for new online accounts at the end of 2015, many of whom now seem to be shunning the game in favor of online casino gambling.

Land-based Casinos Suffer 5.6% Decline

Atlantic City’s land-based casinos generated $175.5m last month, lower by 5.6% from January 2015, with the tally split $122.9m for slots, and $52.5m for table games. When online gambling results are added, that figure then drops to a 3.8% decline, instead. Unlike in previous monthly results, however, there are no longer any allowances to be made for the four Atlantic City casinos which shut their doors in 2014, namely the Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel, and Trump Plaza.Commenting on January’s results, Matt Levinson, chairman of the NewJersey Casino Control Commission, stated:

“January started off strong with the New Year’s holiday weekend, but those gains were erased later in the month when a blizzard dropped up to two feet of snow in Atlantic City’s main feeder markets. As a result, a lot of people just couldn’t get here that weekend. So it isn’t surprising that revenue from the slots and tables was down for the month. But the bad weather that kept people home contributed to the 26.5 percent hike in revenue from online gambling.”

Winners and Losers

The list of winning and losing AC casinos were divided equally in January, with those reporting positive growth including the Tropicana up 5.8% to $21.1m, Golden Nugget up 5% to $16.7m, Trump Taj Mahal up 2.3% to $12.4m, and Resorts up 3.1% to $11.4m.

On the other side of the coin, Borgata saw its revenues decline, although it still enjoyed almost double the revenues of nearest rival Harrah’s, which was down by 9.6% to $27.8m. Also experiencing a contraction in their year-over-year revenues was Bally’s down 12.3% to $13.9m, and Caesars down 13.5% to $20m.

AC Running Short on Funds

Online gambling has risen in popularity since New Jersey introduced regulation in 2013, and in January accounted for roughly 8% of the Garden State’s overall gambling market. Nevertheless, NJ continues to suffer financial difficulties and is currently perilously close to running out of money by April. The situation has been further compounded by AC’s most lucrative gambling operation, Borgata, refusing to pay its taxes until unpaid tax refunds are given to it by the city. The tax courts have ordered New Jersey to return $170m in tax refunds to Borgata, including $62.5m for the 2009 to 2010 financial period, which AC has thus far been unable to honor. Running out of patience, Borgata attorney Joe Corbo explained recently:

“We have been tremendously patient, giving city officials every opportunity to pay the amounts we are owed, or to engage us in good-faith negotiations. But after years of delays and unsuccessful appeals by the city, we can wait no longer.”