One very lucky man started January 2022 on a very high note after he managed to hit a jackpot in Golden Nugget AC. The punter, Dave J, walked away with more than $2.8 million at Golden Nugget after placing a $6 wager on a penny Monopoly Money Gran slot machine that saw him win the progressive jackpot. This payout is believed to be the highest of the year.
In 2021, 5 jackpots exceeded $1 million and were won by punters in AC casinos and various online gambling sites in New Jersey. There haven’t been many jackpots of the $2 million caliber in the state for a while. Since June 2012, the state has hosted 26 jackpots valued at $1 million or higher. The most massive one was a $5.3 million jackpot that saw a lucky online casino player betting on Unibet walk away with the winnings.
Just before the year ended, Borgata online casino struck again when a player walked away with more than $1 million. The player won $2 million playing the Bison Fury slots title that is exclusive to BetMGM customers. This was the second time that the jackpot had been won by a resident of New Jersey. This means that in 2021, BetMGM paid out more than $13 million to winners in their jackpot series.
The largest jackpot in history, however, was awarded by Borgata online casino. One lucky winner won the $3.5 million jackpot while playing the MGM Grand Millions. Like Bison Fury, the Grand Millions has always been part of BetMGM’s progressive jackpot network that is made up of more than 25 exclusive games, which also includes the PartyCasino brand.
In October 2021, a New Jersey online punter was also lucky enough to hit a wager slot jackpot for almost $1 million while a BetMGM customer from Gloucester City also won $932,149 while taking part in Playing IGT’s MegaJackpots Wheel of Fortune.
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Golden Nugget Continues to Focus On Growth
At the beginning of the year, Golden Nugget Online entered into a casino content agreement with Leander. This partnership has allowed Golden Nugget to take on 7 of Leander’s best-performing slots on an exclusive basis until the end of 2023. Some of the slots on offer exclusively to the online casino brand will include Patrick’s Jackpot, Cash Up, Viking Raid Zone, Fortune Fireworks, Star Stacks, Silk Road Riches, as well as Diamond Blast Zone.
This new partnership with Leander gives Golden Nugget online customers an expanded selection of digital slots. This deal with Golden Nugget has also given market access to Leander in the US. The addition of these new slot titles will be instrumental in helping Golden Nugget continue to further differentiate its brand.
At the beginning of the year, Golden Nugget also expanded its partnership with the cross-marketing and engagement firm OtherLevels for an extra 2 years. This extended partnership with OtherLevels will allow both brands to expand into West Virginia where the 2 will continue offering customers personalized messaging for player activations. Golden Nugget and OtherLevels have been in a collaborative relationship for 6 years and the extended relationship will allow both brands to venture into other states in the country’s growing market.
OtherLevels has been supplying Golden Nugget with omnichannel marketing and real-time messaging since 2015. OtherLevels’ service enables Golden Nugget to drive its iGaming player activity nationwide including in newly legalized markets. OtherLevels also supplies Golden Nugget customers with personalized content based on their gambling preferences, behavior, and a range of other parameters.
Golden Nugget also teamed up with Affinity Interactive in January for access to the Missouri gambling market. This agreement now allows Golden Nugget to offer mobile sports wagers and online casino betting. This deal sees Golden Nugget pay AI a small percentage of its gaming revenue in the state, subject to certain minimum royalty payments and other terms of the agreement.
This agreement could not have come at a better time, as it will now allow Golden Nugget to establish itself in yet another new and growing market. Lawmakers in Missouri have been pushing to legalize the online gambling market so that punters can be allowed to place wagers online or mobile phones through any one of the state’s 13 licensed casinos. 6 professional sports teams and the 13 operators in the state have already come together in support of the betting legislation, which means that it could happen before the end of 2022.
As February was approaching, GNOG also signed a multi-state deal with Pariplay. Pariplay’s content will now be distributed in several states in the US including New Jersey, Michigan, as well as West Virginia pending regulatory approvals. Not too long ago, Pariplay was also granted a provisional license to operate in Michigan.
The PariPlay products are expected to go live on GNOG during Q1 2022. Pariplay will rely heavily on GNOG’s already established presence in the US to cement its place in the booming sports betting market in the country. Pariplay’s fusion aggregation platform is made up of thousands of titles from various game developers. It also boasts a suite of back-office conversion and customer retention tools that have all been designed to offer its customers an enhanced gambling experience.
Right before the end of 2021, Golden Nugget Online Gaming reported a Q3 loss despite having realized a revenue boost during the same period. The Q3 revenue for Golden Nugget Online stood at $35.6 million, which was a rise of 37% compared to the $26 million that was generated during the same period in Q3 2020. This was the first time that revenue had improved in the first 9 months of 2021.
Final Thoughts
Despite the Q3 loss, GNOG still delivered a double-digit revenue growth, which is no small feat in an increasingly competitive betting market in the country. As long as the brand continues to make the right investments and acquisitions, the brand should have no problem growing its customers base all over the country.
