Credit: Tim Emerich under CC 1.0 - no changes were made to the image
The US is, without a doubt, the world’s biggest market for gaming. It’s home to some of the most successful casino operators in the world, including MGM Resorts, as well as a whopping 3,000 brick-and-mortar establishments—all of which reap over $25 billion in revenue annually. With cities like Las Vegas additionally considered the Gaming Capital of the World, it’s thus no surprise that plenty of casino enthusiasts head to the US to get their fill of the entertainment options up on offer.
Yet Las Vegas isn’t the only gaming go-to in the country. Atlantic City is particularly prominent on the East Coast—and for good reason. With a rich history in entertainment, its casinos boast diverse offerings that keep visitors coming back for more. Here’s more on that history and how it proves why Atlantic City remains one of the biggest gaming hotspots in the US.
The start of Atlantic City’s history with gaming began in 1974 when New Jersey residents voted to allow casinos to operate in certain parts of the state. A further vote two years later saw them agreeing to restrict operations to Atlantic City alone. By 1977, former governor Brendan T. Byrne signed the resulting Casino Control Act right in front of Boardwalk Hall, fostering an environment that truly helped the state’s gaming capital grow into what it is today. In fact, it led to what Stockton University calls the “Gold Rush” of gaming in Atlantic City, with over 50 casino proposals in the works a mere two years after the signing of the Casino Control Act.
In 1984, the city had over 10 fully operational gaming establishments. However, it was in 2003 that it truly began to compete with Las Vegas. That’s when Borgata opened its doors, and this Vegas-style casino quickly started reaping the biggest earnings in the city. Today, over 83 gaming establishments—including 10 casinos and 16 casino hotels—make Atlantic City one of the 20 biggest gaming cities in the world. That can primarily be attributed to the constant innovation its casinos integrate into their offerings, allowing them to better compete with surrounding states with similarly thriving gaming industries.
The addition of more hotel rooms and slots facilities, for example, allowed Atlantic City to draw back business originally siphoned away by New York and Pennsylvania. These strategies have proven to be successful. That’s best illustrated by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City’s inclusion of popular slot machines like Wheel of Fortune. It resulted in even first-time visitors winning jackpots of up to $1.5 million, attracting even more people to its premises. That striving for innovation continues even today, further helping establish Atlantic City as one of the country’s biggest gaming capitals.
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
The biggest way Atlantic City’s casinos keep up with the times is by embracing the gaming industry’s latest innovation: online gaming. It’s most popular for its convenience, allowing players to enjoy various casino games from the comfort of their own homes without compromising on the authentic in-person experience of playing in an actual brick-and-mortar establishment. That’s especially true with the rise of mobile casino gaming and the immersion offered by additional technologies like augmented and virtual reality.
However, the one factor that’s truly fueling the growth of online casinos in Atlantic City is Web3 technologies—more specifically, the blockchain and the cryptocurrencies it hosts. According to Research and Markets, cryptocurrencies are driving the world’s overall gaming market because they help facilitate more beneficial payment methods for players, significantly helping bolster the expectation that this market will grow in value from $86.6 billion in 2023 to a whopping $168.2 billion in 2032.
The reasons for this are easily seen in the payment features available on Thunderpick, specifically the crypto live casino section, which many brick-and-mortar casinos are now replicating. Here, players can use both popular and niche tokens ranging from Bitcoin and Tether to place bets at the site’s Blackjack Lobby and Immersive Roulette tables all the way to the Poker Live and Baccarat Controlled gaming sections, where live dealers help better emulate a physical casino experience. In the process, they can safely and anonymously make faster deposits and withdrawals that are charged minimal transfer fees, and that only adds to the appeal of online gaming.
That appeal is precisely what’s helping Atlantic City cement its position as a leader among the US’ casino capitals, especially after the economic lows brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Online gaming options effectively helped the city’s casinos diversify their offerings, which is why they were able to bounce back so quickly in 2021. In fact, our report Atlantic City Casinos Have Record-Breaking June found that they earned a total of $357.4 million in that particular month, surpassing a milestone that was reached all the way back in 2011. That success continues today. Yahoo! Finance found that Atlantic City’s online gaming offerings had its best-ever month in August 2024, raking in $198.4 million—a perfect supplement to the $294 million brought in by the city’s land casinos during that same period.
