Atlantic City's casino industry is experiencing a remarkable resurgence, with our nine casino properties posting their strongest April performance in over a decade. The casinos generated gross gaming revenue of nearly $235.6 million from in-person gamblers last month, representing a robust 12% increase compared to April 2025.
This milestone marks the city's best April since 2012, offering a bright spot for our community even as the industry prepares for significant competitive challenges on the horizon. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reports that casinos won $169.4 million from physical slot machines and $66.2 million from table games during the month.
Broad-Based Growth Across Properties
The success wasn't limited to just a few properties. Each casino hotel in our community reported growth in either slot machine revenue or table game revenue, with five operators seeing gains in both categories. James Plousis, chair of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, highlighted the significance of these results.
"Year-to-date, casino win is on its best pace in 14 years due to a double-digit increase in table game win and a modest increase in slot machine win," Plousis explained. Through the first four months of 2026, in-person gross gaming revenue stands at $888.5 million, up 4% from the same period last year. Table game revenue has been particularly strong, climbing more than 10%.
Online Gaming Continues Explosive Growth
While our brick-and-mortar casinos are thriving, New Jersey's iGaming market is growing even faster. Online casino revenue jumped 12% in April to $263.1 million, marking the eighth consecutive month that digital gaming has surpassed in-person casino revenue. April ranked as iGaming's third-best month on record since the industry launched in New Jersey back in 2013.
Even more impressive, year-to-date iGaming revenue has already crossed the $1 billion threshold—the first time in history this milestone has been reached through just four months. This digital expansion provides our local casino operators with crucial revenue diversification as they face new competitive pressures.
Sports betting also contributed to the strong April performance, with oddsmakers keeping $102.1 million in revenue, a 13% year-over-year increase. Through April, sports betting revenue totals $370.5 million, up 4% from last year. Industry-wide, total gross gaming revenue for the first four months of 2026 reached $2.3 billion, 9% higher than the same period in 2025.
Challenges Ahead: NYC Competition and Potential Consolidation
Despite the current momentum, Atlantic City faces significant headwinds. Three full-scale casino resorts are coming to New York City: Resorts World New York City near JFK International, Hard Rock Metropolitan Park at the Mets' Citi Field MLB ballpark, and Bally's Bronx at Ferry Point. These multibillion-dollar properties are expected to impact our nine casinos by drawing away customers from the New York metropolitan area.
Adding another layer of uncertainty, billionaire Tilman Fertitta is reportedly pursuing an acquisition of Caesars Entertainment. If successful, this merger could reshape Atlantic City's casino landscape. JPMorgan gaming analyst Daniel Politzer suggested last week that the Golden Nugget, which Fertitta owns, would be the most likely property for closure or sale due to market overlap or monopoly concerns from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Golden Nugget was notably the only casino among our nine properties to report lower in-person revenue in April. Through the first four months of 2026, the casino's retail gross gaming revenue is down 6% to $40.9 million, ranking eighth among the nine properties—only Bally's posted lower numbers.
While Golden Nugget performs well online through its FanDuel and BetRivers iGaming partnerships, those agreements could potentially be rolled into one of Caesars' other Atlantic City properties if a merger proceeds. Caesars currently operates Caesars, Harrah's, and Tropicana in our community, collectively managing online casino and sportsbook partnerships through Caesars Interactive Entertainment New Jersey.
For now, our casino industry is enjoying its strongest performance in more than a decade, providing jobs and economic vitality to our community. How operators navigate the coming competitive challenges will determine whether this momentum can be sustained in the years ahead.
