Most importantly, the chart shows land-based revenue was steadily growing alongside online casino gambling and sports betting pre-COVID.īased on the early results in 2022, land-based casino revenue is up 22% through February ($396 million in 2022 compared to $308 million in 2021).
Before 2021, total gambling revenue hadn’t eclipsed $4 billion since 2008. Looking at the bigger picture, 2021 was Atlantic City’s best year since 2008. Despite COVID restrictions and concerns lingering, 2021 land-based casino revenue was near 2019’s six-year high. Instead, the evidence suggests that online gambling, and later sports betting, saved Atlantic City’s gambling industry.
These doomsday warnings never came to pass. The anti-online gambling crowd spent years with fingers in their ears shouting, “online gambling will destroy the Atlantic City casino industry and lead to a problem gambling epidemic,” to any outlet willing to listen. When New Jersey legalized online gambling in 2013, the modern-day version of the Millerites came out of the woodwork.
