Following growth in practically all sectors of the New Jersey gambling market, gaming and wagering revenue in the Garden State climbed by 15.1% year-on-year in the month of May.
According to data that was made public on Thursday, New Jersey’s casinos, horse-track sportsbooks, and online gambling operators brought in a combined total of $430.6 million in revenue during the month of May.
And the casinos’ primary business, income gained from in-person gamblers, dropped just below the rate of May 2019, just before the coronavirus outbreak struck. This is an essential indicator for Atlantic City’s brick-and-mortar casino sector, whose earnings have been battling to return to pre-pandemic rates.
These figures are based on data that was published on June 16. However, they do not include income made from betting on horse races, since such earnings are reported to a different organization.
Land-based casinos in New Jersey continued to be the state’s biggest source of revenue in May, pulling in a record high of $233 million and representing a 9.3 percent year-on-year increase. The income from slots increased by 10.5 percent, reaching $174.3 million, while the revenue from table games increased by 6.1 percent, reaching $58.7 million.
Brick-and-mortar casinos in Atlantic City have been fighting a battle to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, but it is clear that they are getting closer to succeeding. In May 2022, Atlantic City’s traditional brick-and-mortar casinos reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of more than $233 million, which marks the month’s highest performance in a decade.
Jane Bokunewicz – who, as director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, analyses the gambling industry in Atlantic City – stated that the statistics indicate a sustained sequence of recovery for the region’s casinos in the third year since the coronavirus outbreak, saying that the numbers show New Jersey casinos are doing better than they were in the previous year.
“However, inflation may be beginning to impact in-person gaming revenues,” she said.
“Brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue totals for the month, expected to improve over last month’s $235.3 million, were effectively flat at $233 million, down less than 1%.”
Bokunewicz added that travelers will continue to be interested in visiting Atlantic City due to its casinos, resorts, beaches, nightclubs, and restaurants.
According to James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, overall income for the month of May was the best it has been in more than a decade. This figure includes revenue from online casinos and sports betting.
“The industry’s casino win was the strongest reported figure in the month of May for the past nine years.”