New Jersey iGaming Down 7.5% To $9.5m In October

New Jersey has just released its online gambling results for October and the news was disappointing to say the least, with revenues falling by 7.5% to $9.5 million compared to the $10.3 million taken in September. From that tally, online casinos accounted for $7.5 million of revenues, while online poker generated just short of $2 million, $117,391 less than the previous month.
Furthermore, New Jersey’s declining revenues comes at a time of year when iGaming revenues usually approach their peaks as the cooler weather sees a seasonal surge in traffic. Nevertheless, Borgata/Party reported an overall 6.3% fall in online gambling revenues to $3.24m, while Caesars was down by 7.7% to $2.46m, the Tropicana/Virgin was down by 5.9% to $1.92m, andthe Golden Nugget was down by 7.6% to $1m. Meanwhile, Trump Plaza/Betfair managed to buck the trend and actually posted an 11.5% rise in revenues to $855k.
In terms of online poker, the $1.96m generated in October marks a new low for New Jersey’s iPoker industry with Borgata/Party licensees generated $1.05m in revenues, 9.21% less than the previous month, and  Caesars lower by 0.4% to $911k. Trying to present a positive message going forward, Global Gaming Business Magazine analyst Roger Gros, commented:
“We might expect to see some better internet gambling figures in the winter, especially if it is cold or there is bad weather, because people will be looking for something to do while they are shut in.”
Overall, New Jersey’s gambling revenues including iGaming reached $207.2 million, a 4.4% fall over the $216 million collected in October 2013. Leading the market in October was the Borgata up 16.2% to $55.3m, followed by Harrah’s up 16.8% to $32.2m, Caesars up 12.8% to $30.2m, Tropicana up 70.9% to $23.5m, Bally’s up 1.4% to $17.5m, Taj Mahal down 17.4% to $16.7m, Golden Nugget up 67.3% to $15.9m, and finally Resorts up 14.6% to $12.2m.
These latest results give hope that Atlantic City’s surviving eight casinos may be beginning to stabilize and benefit from the recent spate of casino closures, and that the resort is on its way to becoming a well-rounded tourist destination. As Casino Control Commission chairman Matt Levinson, explains:
“Seven of the eight casinos reported increases in October, a sign that gaming revenues are starting to stabilize while non-gaming revenues are growing.. Celebrity chefs are opening new restaurants here, Bass Pro Shops and the new meeting center at Harrah’s are nearing completion and just yesterday Stockton announced it plans to create a new campus in Atlantic City at the former Showboat Hotel Casino.”