Will August Cyber Attacks Impact September Atlantic City Casino Revenue?

In August, cyber attacks against major gaming operators, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment sent shockwaves through the gambling industry. The economic repercussions of these digital assaults are expected to ripple from Atlantic City to Las Vegas and everywhere in between.

In this article, we will explore how these cyber-attacks might affect the monthly gambling revenue reported by Atlantic City casinos and New Jersey’s online gambling platforms.

MGM Resorts, which owns the popular Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and Caesars Entertainment, operators of Caesars AC, Harrah’s Resort AC, and Tropicana AC, were the primary targets of these cyber attacks.

Caesars took the controversial route of reportedly paying a multi-million-dollar ransom to contain most of the damage, whereas MGM chose to let the situation play out. As a result, numerous slot machines in dozens of casinos were temporarily shut down. According to a news report by online-casinos-nj.com, MGM Rewards members were unable to access their accounts, and even simple transactions like online hotel bookings became unavailable for weeks.

The true extent of the impact won’t become clear until October 16th when the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement releases the monthly revenue reports for September. However, Borgata Atlantic City, being the city’s highest-grossing casino, holds an important position in this scenario. Any decline in its reported gambling revenue will likely have a significant impact on the overall market’s monthly returns.

Some industry analysts have already speculated that MGM has been losing roughly $8.4 million per day as a result of the cyber attacks. Given the widespread disruptions caused by the shutdowns of MGM’s systems, these estimates may turn out to be conservative.

One of the key issues exacerbating this situation is the lack of transparency from MGM. Many MGM Rewards members have taken to social media to express their concern and disappointment over the gaming company’s failure to provide clear information about what happened and how the cyber attack might affect them. Some customers reported unusual charges on their credit cards, and others received correspondence from financial institutions regarding attempted logins from unknown sources.

Caesars Entertainment, on the other hand, was more forthcoming about the extent of the breach. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Caesars acknowledged that hackers had stolen its Rewards customer database, containing personal information such as social security numbers and driver’s license numbers. This breach raised serious concerns about data security and privacy.

Although both MGM and Caesars claim that their online casinos, Caesars Online Casino NJ and BetMGM Casino NJ, were not affected by the cyber attacks, it’s understandable if internet players remain cautious about signing on.

Overall, the cyber attacks in August have cast a shadow over the gambling industry in Atlantic City and beyond. It’s evident that these attacks have disrupted not only the operations of major casinos but also the confidence of gamblers and customers in the digital age of gaming. The entire gambling industry will need to address these challenges and rebuild trust to ensure its long-term sustainability.

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