Press of Atlantic City – For 35 years, analysts, reporters and curious gamblers scouring monthly casino revenue reports have been able to scrutinize the performance of more than two dozen table games and 10 denominations of slot machines at each property.
That decades-long standard ended unexpectedly Tuesday as the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement moved toward providing a heavily redacted report — by New Jersey’s standards — calling the results of individual slot types and table games “confidential.”
Lawmakers, including state Sens. Jim Whelan and Ray Lesniak, said they were caught by surprise, unaware that the state that has traditionally provided more detailed data than other major gambling hubs was making any changes. Meanwhile, gambling economists who have long reported on the statistics suggested that without them, there will be more misinformation and greater speculation about New Jersey’s industry.
The breakdowns also allowed the public to spot trends, such as an unusually high loss at a specific game, which could indicate either fraud or a high-roller who had taken the property for millions.
“Honestly, I don’t know why they’re doing this,” Whelan, D-Atlantic, said. “More transparency is obviously better, so I don’t know what would have prompted this. I’ll reserve any other comment until I know more.”
The impetus, according to the DGE, was a months-long review of New Jersey’s reporting standards undertaken by regulators in light of the pending Internet gambling launch in November. The casinos did not lobby for the changes, DGE spokeswoman Lisa Spengler said.
The review focused on what information the state is required to make public by law and what other major gambling jurisdictions make public. A temporary regulation adopted by the division on Monday redefines what will be released to the public.
The result: Less information will be publicly available because regulators believe New Jersey’s now $2.86 billion market has been at a disadvantage compared to other states where more gambling data remains undisclosed.
“When you compare New Jersey to other jurisdictions … we believe that the New Jersey casinos are at competitive disadvantage given the level of detail that was being provided,” Spengler said. “Significantly, even with the change to brick and mortar reporting, New Jersey remains one of the most transparent gaming jurisdictions.”
