Atlantic City gambling revenue up in 2018
Last year was the third straight year that Atlantic City’s casino revenue reported an increase.
US.- The New Jersey Casino Control Commission revealed on Monday that gambling revenue increased approximately 8% in 2018 when compared to the previous year. Online gaming revenue increased more than 20% last year.
The growth in revenue was driven by the opening of two new casinos in the city – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and Ocean Resort Casino – the introduction of legalised sports betting, and an increase in online gaming.
The nine casinos in Atlantic City reported US$2.8 billion in revenue in 2018, which represents a 7.5% increase over 2017. Casino Control Commission Chairman James Plousis revealed that 2018 was the third consecutive year of revenue increase for the casino industry. “While the city had a good year, market adjustments from competition occurred and will continue into 2019,” said Plousis. “The continuing strength of internet gaming plus a growing sports wagering market will provide the industry with tools to compete,” he added.
Online gaming was one of the biggest contributors to this growth, as the industry’s revenue increased 21.6% to US$298.7 million last year. In December, online gaming revenue generated US$29 million, which represents an increase of almost 40% over the same month in 2017.
Steve Ruddock, analyst for PlayNJ.com, said: ”Online gambling’s growth has been perpetual since launch, and 2019 offers few reasons that it will slow down. Online gambling could generate more than US$350 million in 2019, and the taxes from that revenue will continue to be a boon to the state budget.”
Moreover, sports betting accounted for US$9.3 million in revenue in last month’s operations for casino properties. If the two licensed racetracks are included, sports betting revenue totalled US$20.8 million. Since its june debut, more than US$1.2 billion have been wagered on sports at a casino, racetrack or through an online platform, Press of Atlantic City revealed. December alone totalled US$319 million in bets on sports in the state.
