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“July 2023 generated the highest single month total gross gaming revenue in recent history,” Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality, and Tourism (LIGHT), Stockton University School of Business, said in her analysis of figures released this week by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.

In July 2023, New Jersey’s nine casinos, racetracks and their partners reported total gross gaming revenue of $506 million — a 5.3% increase from last July.

“Atlantic City’s total gaming revenue in July was the best result for any month in over a decade,” said New Jersey Casino Control Commission Chairman James Plousis in his remarks following the Aug. 16 release of the report. “Internet gaming win and sports wagering revenue results were impressive, pushing total gaming revenue up more than 5% compared to last year. Internet gaming win eclipsed $1 billion faster than any year since inception.”

Some other toplines from July include:

• Brick-and-mortar gaming revenue hit $290 million – down 3% versus last year.
• Internet gaming win totaled $155.2 million – up 13.5% from last year.
• The sports betting handle was $587 million – down just under 1% from last year.
• Sports betting revenue reached $61 million – a 35.6% increase from last year.

One other notable item in the report was the performance of Borgata, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary and marking recent renovation projects. In July, the resort brought in a record-breaking $127 million in total gaming revenue.

That was up nearly 3% from last year, besting the previous record set at that time of $124 million.

“At $2.95 billion, the year-to-date GGR has outpaced total year-end GGR for seven of the past 10 years,” said Bokunewicz. “If total GGR performs at least as well in the second half of 2023 as it did in the second half of 2022, we could be flirting with Atlantic City’s first $5 billion since 2006.”

While brick-and-mortar gaming revenue was solid – exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 and eight of the past 10 years – Bokunewicz noted that it fell short of last July. As Atlantic City continues its post-pandemic recovery and re-emergence, combined with increased regional competition and the continued rise of internet gaming, casino operators are stressing that in-person metric as vital to the area’s broader success. Drawing more people in-person to the resort is a key priority and at the center of a push to diversify non-gaming and unique experience offerings, which NJBIZ has extensively reported on.

“As is the nature of the gaming industry, there are always fluctuations in the monthly revenues and this 3% decline does not appear to be part of a lastly trend,” said Bokunewicz. “Year-to-date, brick-and-mortar GGR ($1.65 billion) has outpaced every year since 2013 ($1.66 billion). This includes nine casinos compared to the 12 operating in Atlantic City before the casino closures in 2014. If the year continues at this trajectory, we should expect comparable year-end total brick-and-mortar gross revenues in 2023 as in 2022.”

“On the casino floor, slot machine win reached its highest level since August 2013, demonstrating that visitation this summer has been strong,” said Plousis. “While gamblers won more at the gaming tables compared to last July, casino win was still the second highest reported figure for July in 10 years.”

“Despite this impressive revenue performance, other forces (inflation, revenue share arrangements, operating costs, etc.) will influence what this GGR really means for the industry in terms of growth and profitability,” said Bokunewicz. “We will have to wait for the second-quarter report from the DGE on Aug. 22, and the third-quarter release (Nov. 22) to get a better picture of how this gross gaming revenue translates into net revenue and gross operating profit for the Atlantic City gaming industry.”