With the ever-increasing number of Covid-19 infected individuals all across the US, businesses that are not deemed essential have been forced to shut down temporarily. This is to help stop the spread of the virus and to protect citizens from getting the deadly disease.
Since the entertainment sector isn’t considered an essential industry, casinos and other similar establishments all across the country have been shuttered until further notice. This includes gaming and entertainment hubs in Nevada and in New Jersey, where the popular Atlantic City is found.
With this development, the Division of Gaming Enforcement in NJ has released its revenue figures for the month of March. It markedly shows a huge drop when compared with the income the city generated in the same month the previous year. Current earnings are at $163 million, which is a huge 44% drop from its earnings last year.
The Casino Commission Control chairman has said that the drop in earnings is not a surprise considering the present situation. The current concern of the chairman and the businesses that are under his jurisdiction is the health and wellbeing of the people who belong to the industry in the area.
It has also been noted that losses in revenue from events, sports gambling, and other league activities in the area have also reached a 44% drop from last year’s earnings.
Despite this bad turn of events, not everything is considered a loss in Atlantic City since those casinos that have an online portal have seen an increase in revenue over the past few weeks. The increase in income for these portals is pegged at 65% from their earnings in the same period last year. This is due to gamblers in the state turning to online casinos for their gambling fix during this period of lockdown.