Atlantic City Casinos Suffers Another Revenue Drop Record

Casinos in the Western regions are starting their reopening while Casinos in the Atlantic City remains closed for an indefinite time. Opening, however, does not guarantee success since factors like fear of the continuous spread of the COVID-19 virus still lures the US.

After Gov. Phil Murphy imposed closures of businesses that started March 16, casinos suffered huge losses since there were no sports to bet on and no rents to get revenue from. Casinos in the whole country were shut down for the entire month because government measures are implemented to curb the spread of the pandemic.

Online gambling revenue saves the gambling industry

Casino revenue in the country is down from $265.4 million in April 2019 to $82.6 million in revenue in April this year. The revenue of April this year mostly came from online platforms of registered casinos. There is an increase of 119 percent in revenue of internet gambling from $36.6 million April last year to $80 million in April of this year.

There were only a few sporting events to wager online, like Russian ping pong, Belarussian soccer, and European darts, which earned $2.6 million in revenue. In April last year, sports bet in New Jersey contributed nearly $314 million.

The decline in April surpassed revenue drop in March, and revenue was down 44 percent. The declines this year followed the drop in revenue in November 2012 after the Superstorm Sandy, which closed the operations of casinos for nine days.

Reopening is not yet an option

Atlantic City casinos are not yet scheduled for reopening, unlike those in the Western States.

James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said that the casinos would be prepared to welcome back their employees and customers at the appropriate time with the health and safety of all foremost in their plans.

Harrah’s and Caesars had zero income for April since there were no in-person casino winnings and no internet or sports betting revenue. However, Caesars Interactive NJ, an online affiliate of the two casinos, reported income of $8.7 million, twice its reported figure in April 2019.

Bally’s reported at $20,000, a decline of nearly 99.9 percent of revenue compared to a year earlier. Ocean Casino’s declined by 92.5 percent, falling to $1.2 million in revenue. Hard Rock is also down by around 82 percent at $4.5 million, while Tropicana declined 79 percent to below $6 million.

Borgata, a market leader, suffered a decline in revenue, falling 73 percent to around $16 million. Resorts reported zero revenue while Resorts Digital, its online gambling arm, gained $16.7 million, an increase of nearly 41 percent.

The Golden Nugget is considered the biggest winner in internet gambling operation, surpassing all Atlantic City casinos in revenue last month. The casino owned the crown after gaining $27.6 million in revenue last month, still a decline of 6 percent.

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