Sports betting operators are expected to flood the New Jersey market in the coming months. There have been a number of reports recently of major gaming operators partnering with sports betting operators to gear up for their New Jersey launch.
The response to the physical sportsbooks operating in New Jersey has been phenomenal over the last couple of weeks. Internet sportsbooks are expected to go live in the coming weeks and they will provide a significant boost to gaming revenues of casino operators.
Out of state gamblers are also expected to visit Atlantic City to place their sporting bets.
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Rummy Pandit who serves as the executive director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University believes that sports betting will also impact Atlantic City revenues as the average sports bettor will spend on multiple offerings at land based casinos.
In a statement, Pandit said
Sports betting is definitely going to drive additional traffic into the city. And online sports betting will not just drive sports betting revenue, it’s going to drive revenue to brick-and-mortars through rooms, food and beverage, entertainment and shows.
Pandit has a valid point as a number of casino operators have set up unique reward programs for the online sports betting and casino operators. The rewards they earn from their online sports betting gets accumulated into their account and can later be used at their land based casinos in Atlantic City to avail selective offerings.
Disagreement On Sports Betting Impact
Wayne Schaffel who is an ex-Atlantic City casino executive does not share Pandit’s positivity over the internet sports betting market. Schaffel says his experience and the stats available show that sports betting will not have a major impact on Atlantic City revenues.
He refers to the sports betting industry in Las Vegas which accounts for a very small percentage of bets places at the casinos. What is even more interesting is that casinos show an even smaller margin on sports betting profits. When you take this into consideration, Schaffel believes the impact of sports betting on Atlantic City’s revenues will be almost negligible.
While the sports betting industry has recorded strong numbers in its opening weeks, Schaffel says that these numbers cannot be taken as a baseline because very soon multiple states will legalize sports betting and gamblers will no longer need to come from out of state into Atlantic City to place their sporting bets.
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