New Jersey managed to officially break 4 crucial gambling income records during the first month of 2024, indicating that 2024 is off to a great start for everything but for in-person gambling in the said state, i.e. the cash that casinos earn from in-person players.

New records:

The overall casino-sports wagering-internet income, the overall sum of cash bet on sports, sports wagering income and internet gambling income, all hit fresh records in January of this year, based on the data unveiled on February 16 by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

The overall sum earned by the 3 horse tracks that receive wagers on sports, Atlantic City’s 9 casinos and their online allies was over $559m, which represents an increase of 28% compared to the previous year. Most of the credit for that goes to a significant month for sports wagering (almost $171m, an increase of over 136%), and internet gambling ($183m, an increase of almost 20% year-over-year).

But these profit streams have to be split with third-party vendors, involving sportsbooks and technology platforms, and are not exclusive to casinos. This is largely the primary reason why casinos think that money earned from in-person players is their core business.

Revenue from in-person gamblers lower compared to January 2023:

The more severe winter climate during the previous month of this year contributed to lower casino earnings from in-person gamblers compared to the first month of 2023, when the climate was lenient, according to the director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, Jane Bokunewicz, who studies the gambling industry of the Atlantic City.

In this regard, she commented: “It’s likely brick-and-mortar activity was diverted to online channels, boosting the internet gaming and online sports betting totals.”

The overall winnings from in-person gamblers continue to decrease, still failing behind levels reported prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which started 4 years ago in the beginning of 2020. During January, said casino winnings were slightly more than $205m, a drop of 3.1% compared to the former year.

Combined, it was more than the overall amount earned from in-person players in January 2019. However, this was primarily because of the excellent performance of 3 fresh casinos in Atlantic City including Ocean, Hard Rock and the Borgata, which were the only ones to earn more from in-person players during the specified month compared to the amount they earned 4 years earlier. All of this means that out of the aforementioned Atlantic City’s 9 casinos, two-thirds aren’t earning same amount from in-person players compared to the amount earned prior to the pandemic.

On that note, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, James Plousis, commented: “The success of online gaming and sports wagering continues to provide competitive advantage to operators even during Atlantic City’s traditional off-season.”

Revenue data for January 2024:

The aforementioned casinos and tracks in the state received $1.71 bln worth of sports wagers in January, breaking the former record of $1.62 bln established in November 2023. When you look at the details, the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, close to New York, earned $113m on sports wagers, an increase of 137% compared to 2023, Freehold Raceway experienced a loss of more than $1m on sports wagers from the $1.6m win from the previous year, and Monmouth Park in Oceanport, close to Jersey Shore, earned almost $2.4m, an increase of 8.5%.

In terms of mixed sports wagering, internet and in-person income, the figures are:

• Tropicana earned $26.1m, an increase of 4.5%
• Ocean earned $39.1m, an increase of over 13%
• Hard Rock earned $51.5m, an increase of 19%
• Golden Nugget earned $63.5m, an increase of more than 23%
• Borgata earned $107.6m, an increase of 1.6%
• Resorts earned $10.8m, a decrease of less than 1%
• Caesars earned $15.1m, a decrease of 7.6%
• Harrah’s earned $16.5m, a decrease of 17.5%
• Bally’s earned $18.9m, an increase of 15.3%

As for the online branches of several of the casinos listed above, there are:

• Caesars Interactive NJ, an online-only entity, earned $5.7m, a decrease of more than 30%
• Resorts Digital, the online branch of Resorts New Jersey, earned $89.5m, an increase of more than 69%

However, looking at in-person earnings alone, the numbers are, according to the Associated Press:

• Bally’s earned $1om, a decrease of almost 13%
• Resorts earned $10.9m, a decrease of 1.4%
• Golden Nugget earned $11.2m, an increase of 2.3%
• Tropicana earned $13.3m, a decrease of more than 18%
• Caesars earned $15.5m, a decrease of almost 8%
• Harrah’s earned $15.9m, a decrease of almost 21%
• Ocean earned just more than $33m, an increase of 8.3%
• Hard Rock earned $37.3m, an increase of 3.9%
• Borgata earned $57.6m, a decrease of 1.2%