The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement on Friday announced August’s total gaming revenue results are on track to be the industry’s best year for gross gaming revenue in more than a decade.
Total gaming revenue reported by casinos, racetracks and their partners was $531.6 million for August, reflecting a 12.9% increase from $470.7 million reported in August 2022. For year-to-date, total gaming revenue reported by casinos, racetracks and their partners was $3.77 billion, reflecting an 11.2% increase from $3.38 billion reported in the prior year-to-date period.
“If New Jersey follows nationwide trends, we may be looking at the industry’s best year for GGR in more than a decade,” Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism, Stockton University School of Business, said. “Though impressive, this record GGR hasn’t seemed to directly translate into profit growth for Atlantic City’s casino operators. Despite record-high GGR, (gross operating profit) was down year-over-year in the second quarter.”
Casino win for the nine casino hotel properties according to the DGE’s figures was $280.3 million for August, reflecting an increase of 2.3% when compared with $274 million reported in August 2022. Year-to-date casino win for the nine casino hotel properties was $1.93 billion, reflecting growth of 2.3% compared with $1.88 billion for the prior year-to-date period.
“We will have to wait and see how summer brick-and-mortar GGR totals — sometimes used as a proxy for tourism volume in the resort — translate into third-quarter profits for the casino industry and tax revenues for the city and state,” Bokunewicz said. “With continued economic pressures, we should not be surprised to see a small decline in GOP, although we can expect to see increases in tax revenue generated since internet gaming revenue is taxed at a different, higher rate than the casino industry’s other revenue streams.”
For the month of August, internet gaming win reported by casinos and their partners was $155.3 million, reflecting growth of 18.1% when compared with $131.4 million for the prior period. For the year-to-date period, internet gaming win reported by casinos and their partners was $1.24 billion, reflecting growth of 14.6% when compared with $1.08 billion for the prior year-to-date period.
“As such a significant piece of their revenue mix, Atlantic City’s casino operators are invested in making internet gaming work, and pay off, in the long term. As the sector matures and more gaming businesses bring their internet operations in-house, they may discover efficiencies that make this segment more profitable,” Bokunewicz said.
Also of note, sports wagering gross revenue reported by casinos, racetracks and their partners was $96 million for August, reflecting a 47.1% increase when compared with $65.3 million reported in August 2022. For the year-to-date period, sports wagering gross revenue reported by casinos, racetracks and their partners was $597.9 million, reflecting a 42.7% increase when compared with $418.9 million reported in the prior year-to-date period.
