New Jersey iGaming Up 15.8% To $12.2m In August

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has released its latest results for August, revealing an impressive 15.8% improvement in iGaming revenues to $12.2 million compared to the same month in 2014. The results were a mixed bag, though, and while online casinos saw their revenues soar 22.9% to $10.23 million, online poker, on the other hand, reported a 16.2% decline in business to just $1.98 million. As a result, online casinos now represent a huge 83.8% of all iGaming revenues, up from 78.7% in August 2014, while online poker has now slipped to a mere 16.2% of the overall iGaming market.
August’s results also show the Borgata maintaining its position atop the state’s iGaming market with a commanding 30.1% share of online revenues, followed by Caesar with a 22.6% share, then Tropicana (22.8%), Golden Nugget (18.4%), and Resorts (6.1%).
When the iGaming results are added to its land-based revenues, the Garden State generated $258.6 million in August, a full 15.2% lower than the $305 million collected in the same month last year. However, back then the state had a number of casinos which have now shut shop. Once these venues are excluded from the result, New Jersey gambling revenues actually fell by 5% from 272.3 million in August 2014.
So far this year, Atlantic City casinos have now produced $1.73 billion in revenues, higher by 3.2% versus the first eight months of 2015, and elaborating on the results NJDGE chairman Matt Levinson, explained:
“Atlantic City’s gaming industry has changed dramatically since this time last year, going from 11 casinos down to eight. But Atlantic City’s operating casinos had a 2.4 percent increase in gaming revenue this summer compared to last. August was down, but the existing operators still are up approximately 3.2 percent for the first eight months of this year.”
Looking ahead, a report published on govtech.com highlights the challenges currently facing the USA’s land-based casino industry, namely a growing gap between old and young players visiting venues. The report states that unlike the older generation, younger players are more attracted by a casino’s non-gaming amenities, such as their restaurants, shows, clubs, and spas. There has also been a move to introduce hybrid slot games to appeal to this important demographic, and as G2 Game Design CEO Gregg Giuffria, commenting:
“If you don’t change, you go out of business.”