Atlantic City casinos are thriving according to results generated during the first half of the year. Based on figures shared by the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, all 8 Atlantic City casinos recorded significant improvements compared to the first half of 2021. Casinos in AC realized a collective increase of 18%.
If you may recall, the first half of 2021 was still grappling with the impact of the ongoing pandemic. However, this year, the casinos in Atlantic City all recorded revenue increases, which resulted in approximately $1.3 billion gained by state casinos in the first half of the year. The $1.3 million gained was a clear increase compared to the $1.1 billion produced during the same period last year.
This June, retail casino revenue grew by 6.8% equated to June last year. With the peak summer season well underway, casinos can expect to generate even more revenue in the coming months. Plus, since the Local 54 strike that was threatening a strike during the busiest casino season has since been settled, the summer months look more promising than ever.
In June, Hard Rock and Bally’s were the biggest revenue generators. Hard Rock saw its revenue increase by more than 26% while Bally’s revenue rose to 20.3%. Bally’s which recently invested a massive $100 million to upgrade the hotel rose to beat Golden Nugget for 8th place. Bally’s managed to generate approximately $13.5 million while Golden Nugget produced just shy of that at $12.6 million.
Of all casino games available, slot machines generated the highest revenue. Slot machines combined produced $960.3 million during the first half of this year. Table games, on the other hand, generated a much lower number of $349.8 million. It is worth noting that even though online gaming continues to top the revenue tables, the massive gap that used to exist between iGaming and brick-and-mortar casino revenue is closing gradually.
The summer of 2022 was a critical time for casinos in Atlantic City. Owing to the soaring inflation, the high cost of gasoline, as well as the tough economic outlook over the last few months, recreational spending is not as high as it once was. Casinos in Atlantic City hinge heavily on the summer months as it remains the busiest season for Atlantic City hotels and casinos.
As such, casinos in AC rely on the busy summer period to bolster their profit margins, which is what allows the casinos in the city to survive through the 4th quarter, as well as the first quarter of 2023. But with inflation, staffing shortages, broken supply chains, and other systemic challenges threatening to last well into 2023, casinos all over the country are facing new challenges.
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Retail Gaming revenue sees surge in July
As casino operators in the city keep facing these issues, they have been forced to find creative ways to cater to customer demand. This summer, casinos in the state produced the largest monthly revenue total for the first time in 8 years based on numbers shared by the DGE. This July, brick and mortar casinos in New Jersey produced the highest total of any month, managing to generate an impressive $299 million.
The last time brick-and-mortar casinos generated this much venue was back in 2014 when physical establishments generated $294.4 million in August. This impressive performance in 2014 was not topped until years later in August 2019 when casinos in New Jersey generated $286.5 million.
July’s impressive revenue represented a boost of 30% compared to June’s total of $229. This was also an improvement of 8% compared to the same period last year. The state’s 3 major gaming disciplines including sports betting revenue totaled an estimated $45 million. This was a boost of more than 14% compared to June’s handle.
Revenue from online casino gaming grew by a slight 2.7% from June to reach $136.7 million. This was the 7th time in 8 months that online casino gaming’s revenue crossed the $130 million mark. The total gaming income of $480.7 million was still 20% higher compared to June’s revenue and was a great improvement of 6.7% compared to last year’s $450.6 million.
This July, table games revenue rose to more than $83 million, which was a record for 2011 and an increase of more than 40% from June’s revenue. Year to date, table games have managed to generate $432.9 million, which is an increase of 14% compared to the first 7 months of last year. Slot revenue also experienced a sharp rise with $215.8 million recorded.
July was the first time since last year that slot revenue surpassed the $200 million mark in a single month. As far as slot revenue is concerned, Borgata led the pack with an excess of $76.7 million in income produced. This was a jump of more than 40% compared to the $54 million that was produced in June. Hard Rock came in at a distant second when it realized an increase of 18% to generate $52 million.
Sportsbook operators in New Jersey, on the other hand, recorded a hold of 8% this July. More than half of the revenue generated by sports betting operators was acquired from parlays. Out of the $126 million handle generated, $22 million was generated from parlay bets.
Brick and mortar casinos in New Jersey contributed less than $2 million of the total revenue with Borgata’s sportsbook finishing in the red. As far as retail sports betting is concerned, Borgata has paid out losses to the tune of $5.2 million. Thankfully, Borgata’s online skins, which consists of the brand’s BetMGM picked up the slack for the retail’s poor performance, producing $%.3 million in revenue for July.
As far as iGaming revenue is concerned, Borgata topped the revenue table in July 2022. Borgata topped the revenue table with $43 million. Golden Nugget trailed in second place with $34.5 million produced while Resorts Digital placed in the third position with revenue worth $30.5 million.
Final Thoughts
The Atlantic City gambling market has continued to record meaningful growth in the first quarter of the year. So much so that the casinos’ collective gross operating profit has been the highest first quarter performance recorded in the last 5 years.
