Penned-in players boost online gaming
Fertitta’s company sees record quarter amid rising demand
Tilman Fertitta’s online gaming business reported an 85 percent increase in revenue during the second quarter, bolstered by record player activity and average spending, the company said Tuesday.
Golden Nugget Online Gaming, which operates in New Jersey but plans to expand to other states, generated $28.2 million in quarterly gaming revenue, compared with $15.3 million during the same period of 2019. Quarterly operating income was $8.5 million, up from $4.9 million in last year’s second quarter.
New Jersey was one of the early areas under stay-at-home orders and the online casino business grew during that time as residents sought new entertainment options and casinos were closed, said gaming analyst Dustin Gouker.
Casinos have since been able to reopen in New Jersey and elsewhere, but at limited capacities.
“There’s a lot of pent-up de
mand across the country,” Gouker, an analyst for PlayNJ.com and other gaming sites, said. “People faced with less attractive options for gambling in physical casinos are looking at online gaming.”
Fertitta, owner of the Rockets, the Landry’s restaurant empire and five Golden Nugget casinos, announced earlier this summer that he was spinning off his seven-year-old internet gaming business into a public company. The deal is expected to close in September. Fertitta will be the company’s chairman and CEO.
The company’s Tuesday report included only limited financial results. Its full balance sheet will become available once the company’s stock is publicly traded.
“Our online play has remained strong in July and into August, and we are confident that we will exceed our revenue and operating income forecast in New Jersey this year,” Thomas Winter, the company’s senior vice president and general manager, said in a news release.
The company plans to expand its operations to Pennsylvania and Michigan and said it is monitoring legislatures in other states.