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The news that New Jersey regulators will continue to oversee gambling in Atlantic City until 2021 is a positive development for the industry as a whole.
The administration of New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy, recently confirmed that it will leave a proposed state takeover in place to give the city more time to get its financial house in order.
Since the introduction of online casinos in New Jersey the market has grown extremely quickly, with many players who used to play at physical casinos now placing their wagers via the internet.
However, the shift towards online gambling has contributed towards a difficult period for Atlantic City that saw five of its 12 brick and mortar casinos close their doors.
Two of those five casinos - Hard Rock and Ocean Casino – have since reopened, while a third, the Showboat, has resurfaced as a non-gaming property.
Hard Rock and Ocean Casino reported collective operating losses of over $26 million for 2018, but the overall picture in New Jersey point to a much healthier future.
Golden Nugget’s gross operating profit increased by 13% to $45m, highlighting that it is possible for real-life casinos in the area to be successful.
Regulators will use the next couple of years to ensure that Atlantic City’s nine casinos can flourish together in a sector that many people believe is saturated.
Capping the number of casinos allowed to operate in New Jersey is one option being considered as the operators work towards what they hope will be a brighter future.
Internet gambling will undoubtedly play a key role moving forward, with the genre providing the industry with staggering growth in recent times.
Online casino and poker revenues in March 2019 were just over $39m, nearly $14m more than the corresponding month last year.
With the introduction of sports betting sites in New Jersey also added into the mix, it is highly likely that these numbers will continue to grow over the coming months.
Further reforms in the New Jersey gambling industry should also help, with job training, economic development and the sourcing of new revenues amongst the factors that should have a positive impact.
