The pandemic had land-based casinos out of business for multiple weeks as the country went into lockdown. Strict ‘stay at home’ policies and the threat of contracting the virus forced people to shift gambling habits to the safer, easily accessible online casino industry.
Most expected everything to return to normal with the lift of these restrictions, but many still prefer to avoid crowded areas such as land-based casinos and have come to prefer the benefits of online play.
As online casinos and sports betting continue to grow in New Jersey, land-based casinos in Atlantic City struggle to return to pre-pandemic revenue figures. The industry faces additional difficulty as New York plans for three land-based casinos, and the threats of the inevitable smoking ban make it challenging to see a bright road forward.
A Brief Look at the Article:
- A Look at the Newest Casinos in Atlantic City
- Hard Rock and Ocean Land-based Casino vs. Online
A Strong Start for Hard Rock and Ocean Casino Resort
In 2023, two of the most popular land-based casinos in Atlantic City – Ocean Casino Resort and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – will celebrate their fifth birthday. These are the newest casinos in Atlantic City and have shown incredible post-pandemic growth, exceeding nearly all other land-based casinos in the state, except for the leading Borgata Casino.
Focused on delivering the best land-based casino experience, neither casino has a robust online presence, certainly not competing with the biggest brands in the online market. For comparison, Borgata is currently the leading casino brand in the state, having collected $60,516,428 in land-based gaming revenue and a further $44,012,713 in online casino revenue.
| Month | Hard Rock AC | Hard Rock Online | Ocean AC | Ocean Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | $38,786,821 | $5,725,676 | $29,750,487 | $3,428,650 |
| April | $38,802,074 | $5,712,960 | $34,201,710 | $4,719,115 |
| March | $39,967,383 | $6,832,131 | $34,605,232 | $4,605,260 |
| Feb | $37,511,642 | $5,619,451 | $26,293,994 | $3,794,936 |
| Jan | $35,910,042 | $6,047,782 | $30,524,247 | $3,937,612 |
In most of the above mentioned months, Ocean and Hard Rock Casino appeared in the top three casinos alongside the leading Borgata brand. As two of the best casinos in the state, it’s easy to assume that they would also be top performers with online casino partners, such as Borgata. However, while Borgata dominates the online casino industry in New Jersey as well, Hard Rock and Ocean appear at the bottom.
Without a solid online casino, it’s unclear how well these casinos would fair once the New York land-based casinos launch. While Ocean Casino Resort already doesn’t allow smoking, it’s unclear how the smoking ban would affect Hard Rock Casino’s land-based revenue.
For both these casinos to secure a better chance of surviving the upcoming changes, building more powerful online casino platforms would be able to assist in revenue gains.
The online industry continues to increase, setting new revenue records every few months. Online casinos do not yet collect the same revenue as land-based partners, but based on growth, it’s only a matter of time.
More News about Online Casinos in New Jersey
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