Atlantic City Casinos See Lowest September Revenue Since the COVID-19 Pandemic

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According to a report from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Atlantic City casinos produced a revenue of $230.6 million in September 2024. Although a drop after a prime summer month was expected, the casinos’ revenue dipped to its lowest level since 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report shows a 6.5% decrease from September 2023, which has been a trend since 2020. The number went down each September in this timeframe, going from $248.5 million in 2021 to the most recent figure of $230.6 million.

Atlantic City casinos will see their revenue decrease even further in the coming months, a typical trend for the fall and winter seasons. This is usually when online casinos take over and draw more players as cold weather and seasonal slowdowns reduce traffic at physical locations.

Additionally, online platforms also offer better promotions and other perks to players, which is why many Americans have been migrating to the web in the past few years.

In September, 37% of total iGaming revenue in New Jersey came from online casinos. With that said, it’s expected that in the next few years, we’ll see iGaming generate more revenue than brick-and-mortar casinos in the state.

Total gross game revenue in New Jersey was $558.3 million for September 2023. While Atlantic City casinos generated $230.6 million, $119.5 million came from sports betting.

Despite the fact the revenue for Atlantic City casinos went down, the total revenue in the industry increased by 7.1% from $521.5 million in September 2023.

For year-to-date, the gambling industry in New Jersey made $4.72 billion, showing a 10.1% increase from $4.29 billion in the same period last year.

Going back to this September, it’s also important to mention that the month was a Friday and Saturday short of the number of weekend days there were in the same month of 2023. Atlantic City casino blamed this for the decline and added that table players were also luckier this September than usual, also contributing to the drop.

While September was slow, August 2024 was the highest-grossing month for Atlantic City casinos since July 2022 as they produced a revenue of $294 million.

As mentioned above, the following months will be even slower for brick-and-mortar casinos but online platforms will start seeing even more players.

If you or anyone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.