This week’s casino news starts off in New Jersey where they have reported record gaming numbers. Have casinos finally turned the page on COVID-19? We’re all hoping that that’s the case.
New Jersey Casinos Bring In $392.8 Million During June
The recovery process for New Jersey has been long and grueling, but they appear to have turned the corner. They were able to cash in on another great month during June, making it their fourth consecutive month of year-over-year increases – by a large margin as well. According to a recent report, casinos in the state of New Jersey reeled in around $392.8 million in gross gaming revenue in June, a ridiculous 302.7 percent increase compared to June of 2020.
While the comparison may seem outrageous, it is worth noting that a lot of the states gaming market was completely shut down during this time last year. Even the options that bettors did have during that time were very limited.
Through the entire first half of the 2021 year, it was reported that gaming operators in New Jersey claimed $2.11 billion. Those numbers are actually more than twice the amount of revenue that they brought in during the first half of 2020, but once again those numbers are an unfair comparison.
Casino Legislature In Japan To Be Implemented In July
The casino legislation that has been working its way through Japan is finally going to be implemented soon. It was reported that Japan’s Integrated Resorts Implementation Act will be taking effect on July 19th officially. The act is supposed to make all casino betting legal as long as the bets are being ran by a licensed operator there. This is a tremendous step for Japan as almost all types of betting were completely illegal before this legislation came along.
At first, this exact same bill was passing July back in 2018 but there was quite a bit of issues in the details that got it delayed for so long. Now that everything looks to be in place, residents of Japan can now gamble in casinos.
As of right now, both Caesars Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands Corp. have backed out of their plans to build a casino in Japan. The only other major operator still on course to build a casino is MGM Resorts, though their interest is fading quickly.
Las Vegas Sands Corp Decides To Fund Political Group
The Las Vegas Sands Corp. have been making a ton of moves lately and it all seems to be apart of a major plan. Throughout the last year, the company was diverting a ton of their efforts to push the gambling expansion through in Texas mostly because they wanted to build a casino in Dallas. While they may have failed in those efforts right now, they are simply shifting over to the state of Florida.
Las Vegas Sands Corp chose to spend $17 million to fund a political committee in Florida called Florida Voters in Charge. In return for the funding, the group is going to back a specific amendment in order to get the company a casino property in the city.
The group also plans to run multiple ad campaigns in Florida to further attempt to sway the public opinion. This is a slightly different plan than the one they had in Texas, but this one has the potential to work out far better than their previous one.