Sports, internet bets near-record levels in New Jersey, but 5 of 9 casinos trail pre-pandemic levels

abcnews.go.com:

Sports betting and internet gambling were at near-record levels in New Jersey in September, and nearly half of the Atlantic City casinos won more money from in-person gamblers than they did before the COVID19 pandemic

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., — Sports betting and internet gambling were at near-record levels in New Jersey in September, and nearly half of the Atlantic City casinos won more money from in-person gamblers than they did in September 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the encouraging numbers released Monday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement did not change a fundamental concern of this seaside gambling resort: that its core business — money won from people on the casino floor — is still not back to pre-pandemic levels at five of the nine casinos.

The amount of money collectively won from on-premises gamblers was higher this September ($246 million) than it was in September 2019 ($224 million.)

Four of the nine casinos (Caesars, Hard Rock, Ocean and Resorts) reported higher in-person winnings last month than they did in September 2019, before the coronavirus outbreak. That's a slight improvement from the usual two or sometimes three casinos that exceed that level most months.

But it still shows an industry collectively struggling to regain lost ground more than three years after the outbreak and the closings and disruptions it caused.

“In the years since the pandemic, a lot more has changed than an individual’s willingness to come out and gamble in public,” said Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at New Jersey's Stockton University, which studies the Atlantic City gambling industry.

“Beyond the direct impact of the pandemic itself, casinos were faced with other challenges like