In January, the revenue from online gambling in New Jersey surpassed that of in-person casino winnings for the third month in a row, signifying a steady shift toward digital betting avenues, despite a slight increase in revenue for Atlantic City casinos.
Statistics released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement indicated that casinos and their online affiliates collected almost $259 million from online gamblers in January, marking a nearly 17% growth compared to the previous year.
This figure is in contrast to the $213 million won by the nine casinos in Atlantic City from physical gamblers, reflecting only a modest year-on-year increase of 1.6%.
The combined total gambling revenue for casinos, racetracks, and associated partners reached $586.4 million, showing a nearly 6% rise from January of last year.
Experts noted that the expanding divide emphasizes the growing significance of online gaming within New Jersey’s gambling landscape, even while traditional casino operations remain essential for profitability.
“Online gaming continues to gain traction among players, and its regular surpassing of brick-and-mortar gaming revenues monthly emphasizes its increasing role as a revenue source,” stated Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University.
However, she pointed out that much of the advantages gained from online gambling do not remain localized to Atlantic City, as revenue is often shared with external entities like sportsbooks and technological service providers.
“Given that casinos predominantly rely on third-party operators for managing their online gaming platforms, it appears that a substantial portion of the gains from this expanding sector benefits entities outside of Atlantic City,” Bokunewicz added.
Among individual casinos, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa led the way in in-person gambling revenue with $56.7 million, although this figure marked a 6.1% decrease from the prior year. Conversely, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City reported nearly $46 million, reflecting an increase of nearly 21%, while Ocean Casino Resort posted $35.4 million, a slight rise of 0.8%.
A number of casinos still fall short of pre-pandemic performance levels. Only Borgata, Hard Rock, and Ocean saw higher revenues from in-person gamblers in January compared to January 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on travel and tourism.
“Atlantic City is benefiting from record results as 2025 approaches, and the sustained triumph of online casinos provides operators with a competitive edge, even during the traditional off-peak season for Atlantic City,” remarked James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
Meanwhile, sports betting revenue took a hit in January, with casinos, racetracks, and their partners winning $114.2 million, down 6.5% from a year ago. During the month, operators managed just over $1 billion in sports wagers, mostly placed online.
The total gross revenue taxes contributed to the state totaled $86.5 million in January.