Atlantic City casino revenue increase continues in 2025

Atlantic City in New Jersey, is one of the major gambling, hospitality and entertainment hubs in North America. Positioned conveniently on New Jersey's Atlantic coast, the resort city is renowned for its beaches, glamorous casinos and the world-famous Boardwalk, the world's first and longest.

While the global pandemic from 2020 impacted the popular casino and entertainment destination, the Atlantic City casino revenue increase over the last few months is a testament to the sector's rebound.

It is worth noting that historically, casino and hospitality revenue often fluctuates based on the season and competition. Still, based on the performance of Atlantic City's casinos in 2025, it is likely that this year, the sector will post better results in comparison to the last few years.

Atlantic City casino revenue struggles in the last few years

There is a total of nine casino operators in Atlantic City. Based on data from the American Gaming Association, the licensed casino operators in the seaside resort city support nearly 52,000 jobs and have an economic impact of $11.88bn.

New Jersey is among a short list of states that offer not only casino gambling but also online gambling as well as mobile and retail sports betting. The variety of gambling activities is vital for the Atlantic City casino revenue because an increase in one form of gambling can offset a decrease in another.

Without any doubt, the impact of the global COVID pandemic in 2020 resulted in Atlantic City casino revenue struggles. That was the case because of a decrease in tourism, temporary shutdowns and other COVID-related restrictions that affected not only the casino but the entertainment, hospitality and many other industries.

However, since 2020, Atlantic City casino revenue increase has shown resilience and growth. In fact, earlier this summer, internet gaming revenue set a new record, providing a good boost for the overall gaming revenue.

Atlantic City casino revenue 2025

Only recently, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the state's gambling regulator, published its latest report, highlighting the performance of Atlantic City's nine casinos and their partners in June 2025. The same report contained figures for the first six months of 2025.

Notably, the total gaming revenue in June increased by 18.4% to $581.6m. On the other hand, the total gaming revenue for the first six months through the end of June 2025, compared to the corresponding period last year, also showed an increase. Receiving a boost from tourism, the Atlantic City casino revenue increase for the first six months of 2025 was 8.5% when compared to the same period in 2024. This translates to $3.3bn in gaming revenue for the first six months of 2025, compared to $3.06bn the prior year.

The Atlantic City casino revenue result in June was good, but one month earlier, the sector reported its highest revenue for the year so far, impacted positively by strong growth of sports betting and internet gaming.

In May, the total gaming revenue reported by licensed casino operators in Atlantic City and their partners hit $614.7m. This result points to a significant 20.5% increase year-over-year when compared to May 2024 when the revenue halted at $510m.

The total casino win in May this year increased by 10.9% to $265.3m. A breakdown points to a notable jump in table game win, which soared by nearly 22% to $70.5m, while slot machine revenue also performed well and increased year-over-year by 7.5% to $194.8m.

As noted, iGaming also performed exceptionally, with revenue increasing year-over-year by a solid 28.5% to $246.8m in May this year. Sports betting recorded similar growth during May. In total, the sports betting revenue soared by 30.2% to $102.5m. A breakdown shows that retail betting revenue skyrocketed by 326.6% to $4.5m, while the lion's share of revenue came from online gambling, which reported growth of 26.2% to $98m.

The Atlantic City casino revenue reported in June and May points to a growth trajectory with revenue increasing year-over-year every month since the start of 2025, with the exception of January.

In April, the Atlantic City casino revenue was a total of $536.6m, a figure that points to 5% year-over-year growth. One month earlier, in March, the total gaming revenue reported by licensed casinos in Atlantic City and their partners hit $546.1m, up by 3.7% when compared to the 2024 figure.

In February, the Atlantic City casino revenue was $484.8m, a result that shows growth of 5.1% year-over-year. As noted, January was the sole month since the start of 2025, when the total gaming revenue marked a decrease. But even then, the total gaming revenue halted at $553.9m, a result that was 0.9% less than the $558.7m figure reported in January 2024.

Atlantic City casino revenue history 2019 - 2024

A comparison of Atlantic City casino revenue by year reveals a steady yet certain growth since the pandemic in 2020. In 2019, the total gaming revenue was $3.47bn, while in 2020, after the impact of the pandemic, the revenue dropped to $2.88bn, down by 16.9% year-over-year.

While 2020 and 2021 are not directly comparable, considering the COVID-related restrictions and temporary closures from 2020, the gaming revenue increased significantly the following year. In 2021, the Atlantic City casino revenue hit $4.74bn, up by 64.5%.

From then on, it looks like the Atlantic City casino revenue struggles are over, considering that in 2022, the total gaming revenue soared by another 10% year-over-year to $5.21bn. The following year, in 2023, a boost in tourism helped the Atlantic City casino revenue increase. At the time, the total gaming revenue rose by 10.9% year-over-year to $5.78bn.

A comparison between the total revenue reported by Atlantic City casinos and their partners in 2024 and 2023 shows an increase of 9.0% in 2024. Overall, the total gaming revenue last year was just short of $6.3bn, a notable rise compared to the $5.78bn result from the prior year.

As noted, the year-to-date revenue through the end of June hit $3.3bn, up by 8.5% when compared to the same period in 2024.

In case the casino industry keeps the same rate of growth and increase in revenue, it is likely that the total gaming revenue for the full year 2025 would overshadow the result from the prior year. If that happens, it would be a clear signal that the Atlantic City casino revenue struggles are over and the sector is once again on a growth trajectory.

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