The gambling industry has enjoyed a stellar year in New Jersey and the momentum looks set to continue into 2020 and beyond.
Up to the end of November 2019, the industry’s total revenue was $3.181 billion compared to $2.645bn for the same period last year – an increase of more than 20 percent.
With booming revenues, large scale investments and new operators jumping on the bandwagon, these are undoubtedly exciting times for the sector.
As the New Year gets underway, we take a look at some of the latest top stories from the New Jersey gambling industry.
Online Gaming Powering Online Casino Boom
Modern technology has revolutionized the way people live their lives and that is highlighted perfectly by the shift in consumer habits in the NJ gambling industry.
Rising sports betting revenues have had a knock-on effect to online casino sector, with the latest industry figures showing huge year-on-year increases.
Online casino games like blackjack, roulette and slots are expected to generate revenues of around $460 million in 2019 – a rise of 66 percent from the previous year.
The growth of online gambling does not appear to have had a detrimental effect on brick and mortar casinos, with every Atlantic City venue in good shape right now.
Third quarter figures published by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement revealed that all nine casinos are profitable, with six performing better than they had in the previous year.
Gross gaming revenues from land-based casinos totaled almost $2.5 billion through to the end of November – a near eight percent year-on-year increase.
Everi Holdings Snap up Micro Gaming Technologies (MGT)
Slots specialists Everi Holdings has announced the acquisition of Micro Gaming Technologies (MGT) in a deal worth $25m.
The new agreement follows hot on the heels of Everi teaming up with the Scientific Games Corporation to launch online gaming in New Jersey.
Everi Executive Vice President and FinTech Business Leader, Darren Simmons, said: “The acquisition of the MGT assets will further strengthen our ability to provide our customers with a one-stop shop of comprehensive, integrated solutions that enable a seamless, convenient experience for casino patrons while delivering operational efficiencies for casino operators.
“By combining our existing Everi player loyalty and marketing solutions with these assets from MGT, we will be better positioned to offer our customers the industry’s most extensive suite of loyalty and marketing technology.
“We have already begun the process of developing a roadmap for integrating the best functionality of MGT’s platform with the best of our existing loyalty and FinTech suite of products and services with an eye towards further strengthening our overall solution set.”
Harrah’s Splashing out $24m on Hotel Rooms in Atlantic City
Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City has confirmed it will spend $24m to refurbish more than 400 rooms in its Marina Tower property.
The project, which should be completed by April 2020, will involve the renaming of the tower and is part of an eye-watering £300m investment parent company Caesars Entertainment has embarked upon in Atlantic City.
Ron Baumann, Caesars Entertainment’s regional president, said: “We are thrilled to introduce our new Laguna Tower to our guests in 2020, which will complete over $86 million in upgrades to our rooms and suites within the last three years.”
Harrah’s has been significantly upgraded in recent years, with a new conference centre and restaurants added along with a major renovation of an on-site nightclub.
The investments are already paying huge dividends, with Harrah’s generating gambling revenues in the region of $300m during the current year.
That figure can be expected to rise further during 2020, highlighting the burgeoning state-of-play within the New Jersey gambling industry.
