The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported a combined $358.6 million in revenue from casino gaming in Atlantic City and statewide online casino gaming for November, with both disciplines showing small month-over-month declines and year-over-year improvements.
Atlantic City’s nine casinos combined for more than $214.5 million in revenue, down 2.8% from October’s $220.6 million. It was a mixed bag, as a 6.4% rise in table games revenue to $57.9 million was not enough to offset the 5.8% dip in slot revenue, which totaled $156.7 million. The overall figure, though, did represent a 3.7% improvement from the $206.9 million in revenue generated in November 2021.
It was a smaller decline for iGaming, as the $144 million in revenue spanning 32 total websites was just 0.6% off the $144.9 million from October. The year-over-year gain, however, was a robust 24.4% compared to the $118 million in November 2021. Almost all of the gain came in traditional internet casino play, as poker rake totaled $2.1 million and was down 2.9% from the comparable month last year.
The state received more than $35.3 million in tax receipts from casino gaming, with $21.7 million coming from iGaming and the 15% levy on operator revenue. The two disciplines have generated $392.1 million in state taxes for the 2022 calendar year, which is running $43.9 million ahead of last year heading into December.
When including sports wagering, the overall gaming revenue total for November was $441.1 million, an increase of 0.3% compared to last year. This year, sportsbooks generated “only” $80.4 million in revenue, which put a drag on the year-over-year comparison. It was 30% off the 2021 total of $114.8 million that remains the state’s high-water mark in that discipline.
Though four of the nine Atlantic City venues posted month-over-month revenue gains, the overall decline came about mainly because the top two casinos — Borgata and Hard Rock — had the largest drops in terms of percentage. Borgata paced all locations with $55 million in November revenue, but that was down 11.9% (or more than $7.4 million) from October. It was also a 13.9% increase compared to last year’s haul of $48.3 million.
Hard Rock slipped 8.9% to $35.5 million, with revenue totaling $3.5 million less than the previous month. It was also a year-over-year decline for Hard Rock, with this year’s total 4.9% lower compared to the $37.3 million from November 2021.
Tropicana posted the largest month-over-month increase in terms of percentage, gaining 10.2% to finish with $19.2 million. Ocean Resorts was a close second, improving 9.5% to $31 million and giving the state three casinos with more than $30 million in revenue. Caesars also reported a solid uptick of 8.3% to $19 million, and Harrah’s rounded out the positive movers, with its $21 million for November 4.1% better than October.
Bally’s narrowly avoided slipping below $10 million for revenue in November, finishing about $35,000 above the benchmark following a 7.3% decline from October. It also had the steepest drop compared to 2021 at 10.1%, the only venue with a double-digit dip in percentage.
A good portion of Borgata’s drop in retail casino revenue was offset by its iGaming suite, where it posted a state-record $44.3 million in total revenue. It was an 8% jump from the $41 million generated in October and toppled its previous standard of $43 million in July. Borgata has topped $40 million in internet casino revenue for seven months running and has cleared $452 million for the calendar year.
Golden Nugget and Resorts flipped spots for second and third, with Golden Nugget coming out ahead by less than $350,000 with $37.7 million in revenue compared to Resorts nearly reaching $37.4 million. Resorts’ promotional outlay of $3.9 million, though, was $900,000 less than Golden Nugget’s.
Hard Rock barely extended its streak of months with $5 million in revenue to 12, with its three websites combining to finish just $26,911 above that benchmark. Caesars narrowly avoided a similar fate at the $8 million plateau, coming out $65,774 above that marker to push that streak to 22 months. Caesars was also denied back-to-back $1 million poker rakes for the first time since a seven-month run from March-September 2020.
Bally’s had an all-time high of $4.8 million in online casino revenue, giving it an excellent chance of clearing $40 million for its first full year of iGaming in New Jersey. Ocean Resort Casino also posted a new top monthly total of $3.4 million, marking the first time its four websites combined to clear $3 million in back-to-back months.
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