August was definitely a great month for nine Atlantic City land-based casinos which saw the fifteenth consecutive month of significantly increased gross gaming revenues. For the month of August, one of the most iconic city’s casinos Boardwalk generated massive gaming revenue of around $352.8 million which is highly more when compared to its generated gaming revenue of $303.9 million for the same period last year.

This is a great 16 percent increase. Commenting on the news, many casino operators active in Atlantic City said that the 2019 summer was one if not the best summer in recent times for the entire city’s gambling industry. According to the press release by the New Jersey Gaming Enforcement Department, DGE, casinos operating here enjoyed a great 6 percent hike which equals to around $286 million for August.

When it comes to the win for online gambling, it equals around $24 million which is actually a massive 65 percent increase when compared to the same period last year. Moreover, the reported gross revenues for wagering on sports were very impressive standing at around $25 million for August which is significantly more than reported gross revenues for the same month last years which were around $9.2 million.

Atlantic City Casinos Enjoying Increased Visitation and Strong Employment

Considering these rising numbers and percentages related to the city’s gambling industry, it is obvious that gambling facilities of Atlantic City saw highly increased visitation and strong employment which naturally resulted in highly increased gross gaming revenues collected not only for August but for the 2019 summer as a whole. When it comes to gross gaming revenues for the city’s industry for this period, they stand at around $2.2 billion through the month of August 2019.

This actually reflects an impressive 22 percent improvement and gain when compared to the previous period in which gross gaming revenues for the industry equaled to around $1.8 billion. Considering the numbers, there is a massive percent swell over the month of August 2018 whose casino win amounted to $1.8 billion. As previously mentioned, the online gaming win for August 2018 saw a stunning 56.6 percent hike to around $297 million when compared to the month of August 2018.

Reported gross gaming revenues for wagering on sports were equally impressive standing at $152 million for August 2019. All in all, the summer of 2019 was one of the best summers in the history of Atlantic City’s gambling industry with reported gross gaming revenues hiked up over 11 percent when compared to the same period including three months last year.

Significantly Increased Interest in the City’s Offering

Commenting on the news, the Casino Control Commission’s Chairman James Plousis told to the Press of Atlantic City that these remarkable results just show that there the city is enjoying a highly increased customer interest in what the city offers in the industry. He also added that this increased customer interest forces leading operators to make strides in other to adjust and stay relevant in the city’s extremely competitive environment.

Commenting on the revenues’ positive showing, the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute’s executive director Rummy Pandit said that gross gaming revenues for August show an extremely very positive trend for the city in general. He also said that the city continues to generate higher gross gaming revenues mainly due to its consistent growth which further strengthens its reputation as one of the premier destinations for all casino enthusiasts.

Led by economic development and promotion of tourism, Virginia has made progress in making casinos on its territory a reality. Last week, Governor Ralph Northam signed the bill which will enable legalization of casino gambling and maybe even online poker. Even though it’s just a beginning and there is a lot of work to be done, this is a crucial step in the process. In other words, the bill will allow the state Lottery Board to supervise gambling and initiate the procedure of including referendums on ballots.

A study about the fiscal and social influence of legalizing casinos should be finalized by December. Conducting this thorough research will be done by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. Then, the state Lottery Board will have to prepare regulations in the first half of next year. After that, it’s very likely the lawmakers will vote again and give their final decision on the following legislative session.

Even if everything goes according to the plan and the bill gets re-enacted, there are no guarantees casinos will ever see the light of day in Old Dominion. Making that happen means residents in proposed cities will need to allow casinos by voting in favor during referendums.

In January, Northam gave a statement, saying that they want to go by the book when it comes to casino legalization. He further explained that people are going to other states which is the reason why he’s opened for options. Since Virginia has the means, there is no reason not to use them and turn it into a state Virginia revenue. However, in his opinion, it’s of great importance to go through the process the right way.

Virginia Gambling Continues to Evolve

Cities which were given authorization for hosting casinos are Portsmouth, Danville, Bristol, Richmond, and Norfolk. Since they faced some economic challenges, the first three cities seem like a sensible choice for accommodating casino facilities. On the other hand, Richmond and Norfolk are added as potential operations, managed by the Pamunkey, a Virginia native Indian tribe.

For the Bristol project, a sum of $250-million could be available if everything goes as planned. Project backers revealed that they’re still giving their full support during the approval procedure. Even though there is much work to be done, all parties involved are determined to follow through with the process and we can expect them to succeed.

At the moment, there can’t be found many gambling opportunities in Virginia. Up till now, the subject has been avoided, leaving Virginia residents with few gambling options such as pari-mutuel horseracing, charitable gaming, and the state lottery. With the opening of National Harbour by MGM, in Maryland, interest peaked, not allowing another alternative but to commence official proceedings of bringing casinos to Virginia state.

Initially, the bill was for casino gambling solely; however, the change was made to include online gambling and sports betting. Thanks to this inclusion, online poker was added as a game which could eventually be approved by the Lottery Board, though it only remains a possibility.