Forced on line casino closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic brought about an 80% drop in gaming income for brick-and-mortar operators in New Jersey all through all of 2020.
According to data released Friday by the Division of Gaming Enforcement, the states 9 Atlantic City casinos reported a mixed gross working revenue of $117.5 million final yr. It’s only a small fraction of the $593.9 million these properties earned in 2019.
Eight of the 9 casinos reported large decreases for the yr. Outside of Ocean Resort, which noticed a 224% improve in income, each property skilled a minimum of a 71% drop. Resorts Casino operated at a loss for the yr, dropping $10.5 million.
The plummeting year-over-year income was predictable as Gov. Phil Murphy shuttered the state’s in-person gaming trade for the complete second quarter of 2020. Murphy compelled them to shut in mid-March in response to the coronavirus outbreak and allowed the trade to reopen with heavy-handed restrictions July 2.
Casinos had been working at 25% capability and needed to implement social distancing protocols that included having fewer gamers at every gaming desk, which additional lowered revenues and earnings. It wasn’t till final month that Murphy started easing these restrictions.
These restrictions and closures brought about regulators to say that the numbers from 2019 and 2020 had been “not comparable.”
“Atlantic City and its casinos endured their most challenging year in history,” stated James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, in an announcement. “Casino hotels were closed more than three months to mitigate the spread of the virus. Yet, through responsible management, the casinos proved that in-person gaming could happen safely… As tourists return to the shore, they can have every confidence Atlantic City is safe for the summer.”
While retail areas struggled, Garden State on-line casinos thrived within the pandemic.
Caesars Interactive Entertainment, which owns the WSOP.com on-line poker site and the corresponding on-line on line casino, had a forty five.3% uptick in revenue with $19.9 million. Resorts Digital, which owns PokerStars’ New Jersey consumer, noticed a 148.4% improve after raking in $21.1 million.
Golden Nugget Online Gaming, which launched in 2020 after Tilman Fertitta separated his land-based properties from his on-line ventures, reported $18.6 million in revenue throughout its first yr. Despite reporting a smaller revenue than its two rivals, the corporate had the biggest web income of the three with $65.6 million.