New Jersey Officially Hits the $1 Billion Mark in Sports Betting Revenue

Sports Betting

Two reopened casinos and half a year of sports betting helped push Atlantic City’s casino revenue up 7.5 percent in 2018 to nearly $2.86 billion, state gambling regulators said Monday.

But the news was bad for most of the casinos that existed before the Hard Rock and Ocean Resort casinos opened in June. Of those seven casinos, six won less in 2018 than they had in 2017, the latest of several recent indications that concerns about whether Atlantic City was re-expanding its market to an unsustainable size were valid.

Sports betting saw the casinos and two racetracks take in $1.24 billion since the first wagers were taken in June. For the less than six months that sports betting was legal last year, it generated just over $94 million in revenue for casinos and tracks. The state got $10.4 million in sports betting taxes.

James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, noted that 2018 was the third straight year that Atlantic City’s gambling revenue increased. But he did note the impact on the older casinos from the arrival of the two newcomers.

 “While the city had a good year, market adjustments from competition occurred and will continue into 2019,” he said in a news release. “The continuing strength of online gaming plus a growing sports wagering market will provide the industry with tools to compete.”

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