Atlantic City Casinos Experience 10% Profit Drop In Q1 2024

The gambling regulator in New Jersey, the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), announced the release of a new report, highlighting the performance of casino operators in Atlantic City. Besides revenue and operating profit, the recently released report uncovered details about the hotel occupancy for the quarter ended March 31, 2024.

The total net revenue reported by casino licensees and iGaming operators for the first quarter of this year hit $769.9 million. This result pointed to a slight increase of less than 2% when compared to the 2023 figure. Excluding iGaming licensees, the $740.2 million net revenue result for land-based casinos marked a similar increase of 1.9%.

Despite the year-over-year revenue increase, retail gambling operators posted a decrease in gross operating profits. In Q1 2024, Atlantic City casinos reported $140.5 million in operating profit, a figure that was 9.6% lower than the result from the corresponding period last year.

Jane Bokunewicz, Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University’s director, who was recently interviewed by the Associated Press, commented on the topic. Currently, the University analyzes the gambling market in Atlantic City and according to Bokunewicz, the latest decrease was the result of different factors, including the current rate of inflation and the uptick in the costs related to doing business. She added that “a potential shift in revenue mix to operations like lodging and food and beverage that traditionally have narrower profit margins,” also impacted the latest results.

In Q1, March Madness and the Super Bowl were among the major US sports events that took place. It is likely that the less packed sports calendar was another factor that impacted the operator’s performance.

To add further fuel to the fire, the hotel occupancy rate for casinos in Atlantic City didn’t increase year-over-year. Hotel occupancy was at 64.8% in Q1 this year, a result that was on par with the figure posted a year earlier.

Land-Based Profits Fall, Internet Gaming Profit up by 1%

Per the data from the DGE, the total gross operating profit for land-based casinos and iGaming licensees in Q1 this year halted at $155.4 million. A comparison to the $170.2 million result reported for the same period last year points to a decrease of 8.7%.

According to a further breakdown, the revenue reported by Caesars Interactive Entertainment New Jersey and Resorts Digital, the two licensed internet gaming operators in the state, hit $14.9 million.

The result represented a slight 1% growth year-over-year. While Caesars recorded a 5.9% increase in its gross operating profit in Q1 to $7.2 million, Resorts Digital’s operating profit dipped by 3.2% to $7.7 million.