Atlantic City has nine casinos that generated seven percent less revenue in October from their brick-and-mortar games compared to what they earned in October 2021. Yet, the Showboat Christmas tree arrived on the Atlantic City Boardwalk on November 17. The holidays didn't start early for the casinos due to the decline in their offline gaming revenue.
The nine gaming operators generated $220.6 million in brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue (GGR) last month. It is about $17 million less than their October 2021 income. But, retail slots generated $166.2 million, a 7.3 percent year-over-year decrease, and table games generated $54.4 million, 6.6 percent less than what they won in October 2021.
In-person gambling reduced significantly last month. Surprisingly, online bettors lost more money in October 2022 compared to October 2021.
Table games, internet slots, and interactive poker raked in $147.1 million. The casinos had an almost 16 percent online gaming revenue increase that offset their reduced land-based income.
Oddsmakers had a bad month in October as sports gambling revenue was reduced by over 7 percent to $77.9 million. New Jersey generated $445.7 million last month in GGR, which was a 0.7 percent or $3 million year-over-year loss.
Casinos' Challenges
The region's casinos have been holding a spirited public relations campaign that highlights the gaming town's dire conditions. Each gaming operator has emphasized their struggle after the Coronavirus pandemic even though the media claims that the Garden State's gambling industry is expanding.
Yet, most of the online gaming and sports gambling revenue generated in Atlantic City doesn't stay as the casinos forward it to their third-party partners, such as FanDuel and DraftKings. The casinos urged lawmakers several months ago to exclude online gaming and mobile sports betting revenue from payment-in-lieu-of-tax (PILOT) property tax calculations.
Atlantic County sued New Jersey over the tax amendment, which would have saved the nine casinos $55 million in property taxes this year. Yet, the operators might save up to $295 million by 2026, when the PILOT program will expire if the court deems it legal.
Casinos are battling gaming employees' campaigns against indoor smoking as the Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ) claims that a regulation change will adversely affect land-based gaming by 25 percent. This might cause thousands of casino job losses.
Casinos Rake in $100 Million Than in 2019
Atlantic City's gaming operators want lawmakers not to create strict gaming regulations soon. Stephen Sweeney (D), the former Senate President, backed the casinos despite supporting the PILOT tax program.
He stated while leaving the Senate that four casinos would close if they failed to make property tax savings. October 2022's land-based $220.6 million revenue was more than the $202.2 million income casinos got in October 2019 before the pandemic.
Their overheads have risen due to the high worker turnover and soaring inflation rates. Atlantic City casinos generated $2.35 billion in GGR between January and October this year. It is $101 million more than their revenue during the same period in 2019.
