Atlantic City has seen good growth in its gambling revenue in August 2021. The nine casinos in Atlantic City took in $262.4 million during August, which is significantly higher than the same month in 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic severely hindered casino operations, so we need to look back to August 2019 for a true comparison.
Impressive Atlantic City Growth thanks to Online Casinos
Things don’t look that good when comparing August 2021 to 2019. Last month, slot machines generated just over $198 million, while table games added an additional $64.4 million. In total, revenue dropped by 8.4%, when compared to August 2019. It is also slightly down compared to July 2021. However, things are far better than they initially seem.
When revenue from online gambling is taken into account, the total revenue generated increases to $397.6 million. This is a $58.8 million increase over August 2019. Things improve again when including Sports Betting. When sports betting is included, the total balloons to over $427.6 million. When all forms of gambling are totalled, August 2021 saw a 21.2% increase in revenue, when compared to the same month in 2019.
Online Casino Softened COVID Impact
The COVID-19 pandemic caused major problems for casino operators around the United States. In states like New Jersey, where online gambling is fully licensed and regulated, many gamblers migrated to internet casinos. While the online casinos in New Jersey did not bring in as much as land-based casinos, they certainly helped to soften the blow.
As the country recovers from the pandemic, there is still hope that Atlantic City will be able to bring in the same number of land-based gamblers as before. When that happens, things will be going very well for Atlantic City and New Jersey. Add in the new found revenue from legal sports betting and the increases from online gambling, and we will surely see more record-breaking months for NJ’s gambling industry.
Dave Cooper is the Senior Content Manager at CasinoUS.com, leading the creation of informative and engaging content for casino players. Fueled by a fascination for the intricate world of online gaming and a talent for storytelling, Dave holds a journalism degree from UNLV, a perfect launchpad for his illustrious career.