Five years after legal online casino gaming was introduced in New Jersey, the jury remains out amongst industry professionals about whether or not it was a terrific play or a horrific wager.
Since its release on Nov. 21, 2013, online casino gaming has generated $938.Four million in sales for Atlantic City casinos and their network partners. The market has continued to develop yearly and now collectively generates more than $20 million a month for operators within the Garden State.
In 2018, month-to-month online gaming sales eclipsed the $25 million mark three times — March, July, September — and each month this year has experienced a double-digit percentage increase over the same period in 2017.
The online gambling market in New Jersey has no longer experienced a year-to-year decline in any month because it has been on a steady increase for five years, and it has persevered; the steady increase has caught even the most ardent supporters off guard.
“I’m amazed that it’s nonetheless growing at this type of rate,” stated Steve Ruddock, lead analyst for PPlayNJ.com. “People anticipated full adulthood at perhaps the 3- or four-year mark.”
Between 2014 and 2016, 5 casino hotels in Atlantic City closed. Over the same term, internet gaming grew by sixty-two percent.
Whether online gaming has boosted Atlantic City casino operators’ gaming revenue bottom line is not in dispute. But a few query whether or not the convenience and accessibility of online gaming in New Jersey have helped Atlantic City as a vacation spot for visitors, or if the casinos generate non-gaming sales.
Steve Norton, an industry representative and former Atlantic City casino government official, supported online gaming, to begin with; however, he now believes it to be a mistake. Besides issues that online gaming has contributed to a growth in harmful gambling behaviors, Norton said it had eliminated the need for clients to go to a casino.
“The probability of online gaming reducing attendance at our casinos and racetracks in a manner of operational downsizing, which results in activity and tax losses, reduced organization earnings and dividends, and the chance of more bankruptcies,” Norton said. “Not a pretty image for an as soon as-wholesome industry.”
Norton is not alone in his difficulty that online gaming will finally result in fewer humans spending money in Atlantic City casinos on food and beverage, rooms, parking, retail, and other services during the inn.
This summer, new casinos — Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Ocean Resort Casino — opened in Atlantic City, bringing the total number of hotels to nine. Wayne Schaffel, an industry representative and former Atlantic City casino government, mentioned that, thru September, general land-primarily based gaming sales turned down at six of the seven online casino residences that were running ultimate year.
“As those sales figures keep dropping, states become ever more determined to recoup the lost tax revenue and are looking to expand online gaming, sports betting, and mobile betting,” said Schaffel. “This will, in addition, undermine brick-and-mortar casinos, leading to a spate of closures over the following decade. This can be particularly dire for New Jersey, which, in my view, has no real way to ever recoup the shortfall.”
Atlantic City marketplace: ‘very healthful’ or ‘cannibalized’ after new casino openings?
Atlantic City market: ‘very healthy’ or ‘cannibalized’ after new online casino openings?
ATLANTIC CITY — Even before the hole of two casino residences in late June, enterprise expe…
