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Over $1 billion in statewide handle generated nearly $30 million in revenue for Atlantic City-based sportsbooks, 2% shy of their 2023’s sportsbook revenue numbers.

Likely due to early spring weather and an unfavorable calendar, brick-and-mortar gaming revenue in April 2024 fell short of April 2023 by 6%. At $216.8 million, compared to April 2023 ($231.5M) and March 2024 ($239.8M), April 2024 brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue was not enough to keep pace with internet and sports-betting revenues.

For Atlantic City's gaming operators, maturing internet gaming and expanding sports-betting markets generated $217.8 million combined in gross revenue for the month — surpassing brick-and-mortar revenues.
It will be interesting to watch how the return of warm weather and summer visitors affects the gaming revenue mix for Atlantic City’s operators going into Summer 2024.

While stakeholders should expect to see gains in brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue over the coming months because of typical seasonal increases in visitation to the city, Atlantic City may actually see greater gains in in-person revenue generated from nongaming operations. It will be many months before a clear picture of this trend is available, but operators’ recent investments in improving resort offerings suggest that a significant shift in the market’s overall revenue mix could be coming. A focus beyond gaming, to the elements that make Atlantic City unique and a stronger competitor against the threat of New York City casinos, is simply good business.

Regarding the first quarter of 2024, Closer review of first-quarter lodging data reveals a more positive outlook than initially suggested by the small drop in occupancy rate would initially suggest.

Atlantic City’s casino resorts sold 10,000 more room nights in the first three months of 2024 than in the same period of 2023 despite a nearly $8 year-over-year increase in average daily room rate (ADR). ADR increased by approximately $4 in first quarter 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The first quarter 2024 ADR is nearly $35 higher than the same period in 2019.

Leap Day (February 29, 2024) added an additional day to the quarter compared to last year, adding both additional available room nights and the potential for additional sales. This dynamic likely contributed to the slight decrease in occupancy rate year-over-year, despite more room nights being sold.  

At 902,092 the number of occupied room nights is the largest seen since 2019 (951,017) and is consistent with a subtle increase in visitation to the city as measured by the South Jersey Transportation Authority’s count of vehicles passing through the Pleasantville Toll Plaza of the Atlantic City Expressway. Vehicle counts for the period January through March 2024 increased 3% over the same period in 2023 and 9.5% compared to the same period in 2022.

This pattern is also seen in total net revenue for the quarter, which was the highest in recent history — growing nearly 2% year-over-year. While the industry might have hoped that this increase in net revenue would translate to an increase in gross operating profit for the period, it was sadly not the case.

While the third highest (in dollar value) in the past eight years, first-quarter Gross Operating Profit was down 8.7% in 2024 compared to the same three-month period in 2023. A variety of market circumstances can explain this dynamic, including an increase in the cost of doing business, inflation, and a potential shift in revenue mix to operations like lodging and food & beverage that traditionally have narrower profit margins.