New Jersey’s online gambling market had its best month ever in March, registering an increase of more than 40 percent from a year ago as it helped Atlantic City’s casinos boost their gambling revenue by more than 9 percent. When the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal is excluded from the calculation, the seven surviving casinos saw an increase of nearly 17 percent last month.
Figures released Wednesday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show the casinos won $221.8 million in March. That’s an increase of 9.3 percent compared with March 2016.
The results were helped by an increase of 40.2 percent in online gambling revenue, which increased to $21.7 million in March, compared with $15.5 million a year ago.
Of the seven brick-and-mortar casinos currently operating, only Bally’s posted a decrease, and it was only 2.2 percent.
Internet gambling began in New Jersey in November 2013 as a way to help the state’s struggling casinos. It appears to be doing just that, gambling authorities said.
“Every month should be as good as March was,” said Matt Levinson, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. “When coupled with the very strong earnings report that came out last week, it’s clear that casinos have started to grow the market and increase their profits. That is generating a lot of positive interest in Atlantic City and has already attracted significant new investment in this market.”
