Atlantic City Casino Revenue Stagnant Through First Half of 2024

Posted on: July 17, 2024, 07:29h. 

Last updated on: July 17, 2024, 10:30h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Atlantic City casino revenue was flat year over year through the first six months of 2024.

Atlantic City casino revenue iGaming sports betting
The brick-and-mortar Atlantic City casino industry was flat through the first six months of 2024. Revenue from iGaming and sports betting helped further expand the state gaming industry. (Image: Do AC)

The nine properties in New Jersey’s casino beach town experienced stagnant in-person play so far this year.

Through six months, brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue (GGR) from the casinos’ physical slot machines and table games totaled $1,356,106,653. At this time last year, legacy casino win totaled $1,356,673,149. The difference is a negligible $433,504.

James Plousis, chair of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said Atlantic City continues to increase its marketability with new entertainment and amenities.

Visitation has been on the rise thanks in part to diverse and plentiful in-person entertainment opportunities being offered in Atlantic City and across the region,” Plousis said in prepared remarks to Casino.org. “Free family-friendly attractions in Atlantic City this summer include fireworks every Saturday, Boardwalk concerts at least two nights weekly, and weekday recitals of Boardwalk Hall’s famous organ — the world’s largest musical instrument.”

Retail slot win from January through June totaled $998.29 million, a year-over-year decrease of 0.3%, or $3.2 million. Table revenue climbed 1%, or $3.64 million, to $357.8 million.

Hard Rock Gains?

MGM Resorts’ Borgata has long been Atlantic City’s top GGR generator, but Hard Rock continues to cut into the luxury market.

Hard Rock was one of only three Atlantic City casinos to experience year-over-year GGR gains during the first half of 2024. The Boardwalk property generated GGR of $262.22 million from in-person players, a 12% jump from 2023, or $27.9 million.

Borgata saw legacy slot and table win slide more than 1% to $351.84 million, a difference of approximately $4.64 million.

The Marina District resort’s market share of the brick-and-mortar Atlantic City casino industry went from 26.3% during the first half of 2023 to 25.9% through six months in 2024. Hard Rock’s market share increased from 17.3% to 19.3%.

Ocean Casino’s half-year GGR from its physical casino climbed almost 5% to $199.16 million to rank third. Golden Nugget was the only other casino to experience year-over-year in-person GGR gains — up 4% to nearly $75 million.

After Ocean, Tropicana was fourth with $107.83 million, a decline of 6%. Harrah’s was a close fifth at $107.56 million, a 13% drop. Caesars was sixth at $103.43 million, down 1%, while Resorts was seventh at $77.5 million, flat from a year ago.

Golden Nugget was eighth and Bally’s finished last at $71.56 million. Despite recent renovations, Bally’s saw in-person play slow by 3%.

iGaming Growth Continues

New Jersey’s gaming industry continues to grow with online casino gambling and sports betting.

Through six months, iGaming GGR was up over 21% to $1.12 billion. Oddsmakers kept $573 million of the bets wagered, a 30% year-over-year surge.

Total statewide gaming revenue was a little more than $3 billion, a 12% gain, or a difference of nearly $331.5 million.

The $3 billion in GGR marked the state gaming industry’s best mark through six months since 2013. However, the casinos share much of the online casino and sportsbook money with their third-party partners like DraftKings and FanDuel, meaning not all revenue is the same for the nine resorts.

In-person gaming does not occur in a vacuum. Patrons visiting Atlantic City are also likely to spend money on things beyond the casino floor, and their presence in the city directly and indirectly supports a variety of businesses and thousands of jobs,” said Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality, and Tourism (LIGHT) at Stockton University.

“As we look forward to the rest of the summer, it will be important to monitor year-over-year revenues for brick-and-mortar operations,” Bokunewicz added.