New Jersey online gambling up 28 percent

The Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa took in us$3.9 million in Internet wagers last month, accounting for roughly 41% of the online market. MGM and Boyd Gaming own the Borgata and have partnered with bwin.party to offer online wagering. Caesars, which operates the popular WSOP brand, grabbed slightly over us$3 million in online gaming revenue.

While Internet gambling is on the rise, overall revenue for Atlantic’s City’s 11 casinos experienced a decrease of 4.6% from revenue totals posted one year ago in January, 2013. Last month, us$195.7 million was won by casinos, compared to us$205.2 million in January last year, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE).

Part of the reason for the decline is that this time last year, the New Jersey casino industry was tallying receipts from a dozen Atlantic City casinos. The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel closed on January 13 after being acquired by Caesars and Tropicana following bankruptcy proceedings.

While the increase in Internet gambling revenue is encouraging, it may be difficult to continue posting gains near 30% in the future. Marketing strategies undertaken by the casinos are aimed at attracting new players to give online wagering a try. However, there are indications, at least in regards to online poker, that growth may have hit a plateau and a leveling off period is likely to follow.