The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement released its Q4 numbers for Garden State casinos, letting it round up the numbers for all of 2024. The nine licensed casinos generated $675.1 million in gross operating profit last year, a 9.3% drop compared to the $744.7 million they collected in 2023.
Key takeaways
● Atlantic casino profits fell by 9.3% in 2024 compared to 2023
● Net revenues also dropped by 0.1%
● Casinos like Bally’s Atlantic City, Resorts Casino, and Golden Nugget saw profits drop by over 39%
Net revenue fell by 0.1% year-over-year from $3.23 billion to $3.22 billion. Meanwhile, gross operating profit also decreased by 9.8% in Q4, and net revenue slipped by 0.4% in Q4 compared to the same period the year prior.
New Jersey casino profit drops across the board
Seven of the nine licensed New Jersey casinos saw gross operating profits drop in 2024 compared to 2023. Only one of these locations, Borgata, the state's most significant profit generator, saw income drop less than 10%. Borgata revenues fell by 7.7% to $208.5 million.
Tropicana saw profits decline by 11.5%, Ocean Resorts’ fell by 13.6%, and Harrah’s profits dropped by 20.4% in 2024 compared to 2023.
Golden Nugget’s gross operating income fell by almost 40% from $29.7 million in 2023 to $18 million in 2024. Meanwhile, Resorts Casino profits hit $5.3 million, a 43.8% decline.
Bally’s Atlantic City was the most significantly impacted, where profits plummeted over 76% to hit $2.5 million compared to $11.1 million the year before. In 2024's Q4, Bally’s Atlantic City saw profits drop by over 326% compared to the same period the previous year, a $4.2 million loss.
While these locations saw land-based revenues drop, many New Jersey online casino sites experienced profit rise in 2024. For example, online casino income jumped from $1.92 billion in 2023 to $2.39 billion in 2024.
Additionally, New Jersey lawmakers are currently taking action which may boost these profits in the future, like banning sweepstakes casinos to drive customers back to legal gambling locations.
Hard Rock and Caesars survive profit drops
Only two casinos bucked the year-long trend of gross operating profits falling: Hard Rock and Caesars. Caesars increased its gross operating income by 10.7%, from $51.7 million to $57.2 million. It took these profits from net revenues of $257.4 million, a 1.3% year-over-year rise.
Q4 results boosted the casino, where its gross operating profit increased by over 120% compared to the same period the year prior, hitting $8.5 million.
Hard Rock was the other casino to see gross operating profit growth in 2024, increasing its total by almost 8% from $125.5 million to $135.4 million. That total made it the state’s second-highest gross income generator last year, behind Borgata.
