Technical glitches and payment snafus contributed to a disappointing debut for New Jersey’s online gambling market.
It was bad news for Atlantic City all the way around, as land-based gaming revenues for 2013 were simultaneously reported to have fallen below $3 billion for their worst performance in 24 years. The total of $2.87 billion was down 45% from the market’s peak in 2006.
The most-populous US state to legalize online gambling saw six casino-affiliated Web sites affiliated take in $8.37 million in revenue since going live on 25th November, falling short of analysts’ forecasts of $10 million-$15 million and prompting observers to scale back their projections for 2014 to $200 million-$300 million from the $400 million-plus touted in the run-up to launch. Gov. Chris Christie’s office had forecast more than $1 billion.
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, co-owned by Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts International, led the market with $3.28 million, 32% of the total, according to results released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, followed by Caesars Entertainment, which took in $2.38 million.
“I wouldn’t extrapolate too much from these numbers,” said Union Gaming Group analyst Robert Shore, who noted that operators haven’t fully rolled out their marketing efforts or mobile services, and gamblers faced challenges signing up in the early going because of software problems. Additionally, some major banks have blocked the use of credit cards.
Registrations to date total some 151,000 players comprised of both New Jersey residents and those physically present in the state, as required by law.
New Jersey is the third state to allow gambling online, following neighboring Delaware, which went live in the fall, and Nevada, which licenses only poker and has two operators (Station Casinos and Caesars) currently. Delaware is scheduled to report initial results this month. The state has about 4,300 registered accounts that have generated $10.3 million in total wagers so far. Nevada, which went live last spring, will begin breaking out results once there are three operators, says the state Gaming Control Board.
The New Jersey market is restricted to Atlantic City’s 11 casinos. Eight are licensed for online to date. Six are operating. Borgata is partnering with Gibraltar-based Bwin.party for software and platform support. Caesars’ partner is 888 Holdings, also licensed in Gibraltar.
