Following ten years of grappling with financial shortfalls, Atlantic City has at last rebounded to profitability, largely due to the flourishing internet gaming sector.
The entirety of the New Jersey gaming sector displayed indications of revival with a 1.5% rise in earnings in 2016, signifying the conclusion of a decade-long downturn. Atlantic City gambling establishments, in particular, witnessed their initial earnings expansion in ten years, propelled by New Jersey’s prosperous online gaming market.
The seven surviving casinos in Atlantic City produced a collective $2.6 billion in gaming earnings last year, marking the first uptick since 2006, when Atlantic City boasted 12 casinos and achieved a pinnacle of $5.2 billion in earnings.
Internet gaming in New Jersey yielded a remarkable $1.967 billion in 2016, a 32% surge in comparison to 2015. Casino game earnings leaped 36% to $1.702 billion, while poker earnings ascended 11% to $26.5 million.
Examining physical casinos solely, earnings dipped marginally in 2016, partially attributed to the shuttering of the Taj Mahal casino, which resulted in a $65 million earnings reduction. Only two casinos encountered earnings decline in 2016, with Harrah’s earnings diminishing by $16 million to $358 million. However, without the inclusion of online gaming, the complete gaming market would have undergone a 0.3% year-over-year decrease.
Following a turbulent three-year phase that witnessed five casinos close and a minimum of 11,000 jobs lost, New Jersey’s groundbreaking move to accept online gaming has yielded steady expansion and aided Atlantic City’s casinos in discovering a fresh equilibrium.
In another encouraging indication, Pennsylvania, the second-largest gaming market in the US, is anticipated to observe its gaming earnings expand by 1% to $3 billion this year.
In 2016, the global gaming hub of Macau amassed an astounding 200 billion yuan (approximately 30 billion US dollars!). Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific, Nevada, renowned for the allure and extravagance of Las Vegas, experienced its own moment of triumph. For the first time since the 2008 economic downturn, the state’s gaming establishments returned to profitability, indicating a revival in the United States gambling sector.
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