Gambling 911 – New Jersey’s fledgling Internet gambling industry saw its first monthly decline, falling slightly to $11.4 million in April. In March, which had one more day of gambling than April had, Internet gambling brought in $11.9 million. Figures released Wednesday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show the average online take per day was $380,958 in April, down from $383,173 in March.
Online gambling had shown monthly increases of 28 percent in January, 9 percent in February, and 15 percent in March. It began in late November as a way of helping the struggling casinos bring in new revenue and new customers.
Joe Lugo, senior vice president of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, said his casino has always believed that mobile devices would be key to Internet gambling revenue. Getting the different platforms to work with 3G and 4G smartphones will help in coming months, he predicted. Lupo also said the industry hopes for more widespread credit card and other electronic payments to fund Internet gambling accounts.
“It simply takes time when launching a new business,” he said.
Matt Levinson, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said the tapering off of Internet gambling revenues could be because of continuing difficulties many gamblers encounter in trying to fund their accounts with credit cards. He also speculated that better weather in April led some gamblers to play in person.
