It was a good year for the state of New Jersey’s gambling industry. Atlantic City casinos continued to set revenue records, the popularity – and availability – of live dealer games grew, more casinos launched online gambling options and innovative operators continue to pioneer the field, bringing greater options to players.
Since money talks, let’s first take a look at the revenues generated by casinos. Out of the 11 months recorded in the month (December numbers are still not in), revenue records were set an impressive six times (January, February, March, July, October and November).
The industry leader remains Golden Nugget Casino, with excellent numbers in all months throughout the year.
Online gambling continued to contribute to Atlantic City’s success story and there seems to be no sign that this trend is letting up any time soon.
One of the reasons that casinos continue to set records is the fact that operators are always looking for ways to spice things up. Online casino operators, in particular, continue to introduce new games, and 2018 was definitely the year of Live Dealer games on their online gaming platforms. Of course, it was Golden Nugget which started the ball rolling, but other casinos soon joined the Live Dealer club. Today, no less than eight casinos offer players the chance to play roulette, blackjack, poker and other games from the comfort of the own homes, while still speaking to live dealers and watching the action on their computer or mobile phone screens.
Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Resort Casino opened in their doors in June 2018 and jumped right into online gambling. Analysts say that the two casinos will need to bring more innovation and ideas in order for them to move ahead in an already competitive market; but players will be the ones to benefit from even better deals and products.
We can’t wrap up the year without the feather in New Jersey’s cap – its victory in the United States Supreme Court that saw the overturning of the nationwide ban on sports betting. New Jersey was one of the first states to allow legal sports betting in a regulated market and there are big plans for this market’s growth in the coming year.
