By JENNIFER BOGDAN, Staff Writer

Atlantic City came out on top in gambling revenue when Internet wagering numbers are combined with land-based casino revenue last month.
Combined, the city saw a 3 percent rise in gambling revenue, increasing from $228.5 million in April 2013 to $235.9 million last month, according to data released by the New Jersey Division of Gambling Enforcement Wednesday.

While land-based casino revenue in April was down nearly 2 percent to $224.4 million, $11.4 million earned in Internet gambling revenue for the month, more than made up the difference.

(Future A.C. Convention bookings up in first quarter.)
Still the state’s Internet gambling revenue is showing signs of leveling out with the first month-over-month decline since the state rolled out online wagering in November 2013.

New Jersey saw $11.9 million in Internet gambling revenue in March, which had one more day than the month of April. Win per day averaged $380,958 in April compared to $383,173 in March.

Regulators and operators have pointed to the banks and credit card operators, saying when the industry must see more widespread payment methods accepted before more growth can be expected. Because Internet gambling has been treated as an illegal activity for years, challenges remain in getting major companies such as Visa to change gambling transaction coding that would allow the payments to be processed.
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has held on the majority of the online market since online gambling’s launch. In the year to date, Borgata has captured $16.4 million of the $43 million seen in online revenue. Caesars Interactive Entertainment follows with $13.1 million
Keith Smith, president and chief executive officer of Boyd Gaming, Borgata’s parent company, said to date, the company has seen more than 55,000 accounts created. Nearly 75 percent of those accounts were created by players who have not visited Borgata in at least a year, he said, noting that the casino is making headway in attracting online players to the land-based casino.

“To date, nearly 10 percent of them have made at least one trip to Borgata,” Smith said. “As these customers experience the Borgata brand of hospitality, we are confident that many will want to return.”

On the land-based side, Revel Casino Hotel saw the largest increases in revenue in April with a 55 percent improvement from $8 million in April 2013 to $12.5 million last month.

Golden Nugget Atlantic City, which has seen success in attracting some of the former customer base of the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel that closed in January, saw gambling revenues increase by 40 percent. In April 2013, Golden Nugget had $9.3 million in casino win, compared to $13 million this month.

Meanwhile, Trump Plaza , which has languished at the bottom of the pack of 11 Atlantic City casinos, continued to see setbacks. The casino saw gambling revenue fall 26 percent in April from $6 million to $4.4 million.

Showboat took a 20 percent hit in gambling revenue from $16.5 million in April 2013 to $13.2 million last month.

Caesars Entertainment Corp. Chief Executive Officer Gary Loveman recently acknowledged that if the market continues in its current trend, the company would consider shutting down one of its four Atlantic City casinos. The company also owns Bally’s, Showboat and Harrah’s.

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