DraftKings Closing Live-Dealer Studio for New Jersey Online Casino

DraftKings will close its live-dealer studio at Golden Nugget Atlantic City in New Jersey in January.

The preeminent iGaming and sports betting operator reportedly informed employees at a staff meeting on Monday, October 28, during a week in which senior executives and officials visited the facility.

The news was procured from a New Jersey Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Notice, which informs employees of large lay-offs two months in advance, as first reported by Next.io.

Making a change

DraftKings is not completely done with its online operations and is moving away from full-time live dealers to third-party operations. According to the WARN notice, the decision will lead to a loss of 101 jobs.

The company launched its live-dealer table games for New Jersey online casino patrons in 2022 following its $1.56 billion purchase of Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG). 

This is not the first time it has laid off a sizable amount of employees in the interest of preserving the company’s bottom line, with a more aggressive cost-saving agenda beginning to take precedence early last year. 

“We are supporting impacted employees to offer a smooth transition for as many as possible,” a DraftKings official told Next.

“As we finalize our GNOG integration, effective January 31, 2025, DraftKings will transition its in-house live dealer operations to third-party studios in Atlantic City,” said a company statement. “Our live dealer offerings will remain uninterrupted.”

DraftKings’ New Jersey casino offers roughly 70 table games during regular hours and more than 100 during primary hours in the evenings and during weekends.

Focused on profitability

DraftKings offers live dealers, virtual slots, and more games for customers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It also has a variety of online casino games for customers in Connecticut, Michigan, and West Virginia.

Upon purchasing Golden Nugget Online Gaming and launching the first live-dealer gaming system in America, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said that he expected an uptick in revenue and profit.

“We anticipate that this acquisition will provide meaningful revenue uplift by utilizing our data-driven marketing capabilities and a dual brand iGaming strategy, gross margin improvement opportunities, and cost savings across external marketing and SG&A,” Robins said in 2022.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming’s September report revealed that DraftKings collected more than $375.9 million in gross gaming revenue since the start of the year and $45.8 million in September alone. 

FanDuel was close behind DraftKings but still came in second for the year and month with $360.4 million and $45.3 million respectively.