Total gaming win for the gaming industry in the US state of New Jersey fell in February compared with a year prior, to $192m from $205m in 2017 – a 6.5 per cent year-on-year decline.
However, the disappointing headline figure hides a tale of two sectors. The bricks-and-mortar casinos of Atlantic City saw win in February fall nearly nine per cent, by $16.6m, to $170m.
These losses were tempered by the continued growth of the state’s online casino sector, which saw win jump 17.5 per cent year on year, to $22m – a rise of more that $3.2m.
Hardest hit in AC were the casinos’ tables, with table game win falling a whopping 15.5 per cent year on year, down $8.4m to $45.9m in the month.
Bucking the land-based trend was Golden Nugget AC, where land-based gaming win climbed 4.7 per cent year on year, to $17.2m, while February igaming win rocketed to $7.9m – a year-on-year climb of 52.4 per cent.
Contrasting fortunes at Caesars, however, which saw both its on- and offline business suffer in February. Casino win dropped 23 per cent to $17.6m while online gaming win also fell, down 8.7 per cent to $3.2m.
Much of the damage is being blamed on the extreme winter weather that hit parts of the east coast in February but a recovery is now needed.
Year-to-date win for the New Jersey industry lags 8.2 per cent behind where it was this time last year, with a 2018 win of $376.4m, down from $410m in 2017.