New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement reported $642.2 million in gambling revenue for August, a 15.7% jump from last year and one of the state’s biggest months to date. Atlantic City casinos contributed $311.9 million, with $234.3 million from slots and $77.6 million from table games as the summer crowds filled the floors.
Borgata led the market at $80.2 million, its best monthly performance in years. Hard Rock followed with $58.3 million, while Ocean Casino reached a milestone of $51.2 million, the first time it crossed the $50 million line. Tropicana, Caesars, Harrah’s, and Resorts each saw modest gains, while Bally’s and Golden Nugget slipped compared with last year.
The latest record came after a summer of big profits for digital gambling, helped by smoother mobile platforms, the spread of live-dealer tables, and constant traffic from sportsbook users who now slide easily between betting lines and casino games.
Atlantic City casinos are holding steady, but online play has pulled further ahead, and the way money moves has started to evolve alongside it. Mobile wallets have already replaced cash for many everyday transactions, and New Jersey ranks among the states with the most crypto use.
To keep pace with player expectations, top operators now use blockchain for payouts, with instant payout bitcoin casinos sending winnings straight into your wallet in seconds while adding stronger privacy controls around each transaction. Besides speed and discretion, the model also strips away many of the fees tied to bank processing and gives users uninterrupted access to their balances, a combination that fits neatly with broader consumer behavior.
According to the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice, more than 80% of Americans now use some form of digital payment in a typical month, underscoring how deeply instant access has become part of everyday life.
The DGE report shows that nearly all of the wagering revenue came from online play, with retail sportsbooks adding only $2.6 million. FanDuel led the market, pulling in just over $31 million, while DraftKings was close behind at nearly $28 million. Operators such as BetMGM, Caesars, and Bet365 brought in much smaller figures, each landing in the low millions.
The gap separating the two leaders from the rest of the field has continued to grow, largely because of their customer networks and the way they link betting with casino play on the same platforms.
Sportsbooks held 10.06% of wagers in August, far higher than the usual average. That higher margin helped sportsbooks turn a handle of $814.3 million into the strongest revenue month since spring. Year-to-date, the sector has delivered $708.7 million, just shy of last year’s pace, showing how stable the betting market has remained even as promotional spending climbs and player habits evolve.
Starting in July, New Jersey raised the tax rate on both iGaming and mobile sports wagering to 19.75%, pushing operators into a far steeper cost environment than they faced earlier in the year. The change could have slowed momentum, but demand has held firm. Internet gaming wins through August reached $1.88 billion, more than 23% higher than the same period in 2024, while online sportsbooks posted $79.3 million in revenue for August alone, a gain of over 30% from last year.
Retail books, meanwhile, remain an afterthought, contributing just $2.6 million. That imbalance leaves digital operators shouldering nearly the entire load, balancing higher taxes with costly promos and incentives to keep players active. Despite those pressures, the state still collected more than $86 million in gross revenue taxes in August, proving the market’s capacity to handle higher taxes without losing pace.
What it leaves behind is a sector that keeps growing but under tighter margins, where operators are being forced to tighten everything from platform upgrades to payout systems in order to stay competitive.
August’s casino totals were also supported by steady visitor traffic into the city. Large conventions and trade shows filled the conference spaces, while regional travel packages brought in bus groups and short-stay tourists from surrounding states. Resorts that invested in new dining and entertainment spaces reported stronger spend per visitor, with upgraded amenities helping to extend time on property.
The hospitality side played a central role too: several casino hotels logged some of their best average daily rates since before the pandemic, which added to overall revenue even as digital platforms outpaced them in growth.
Beyond the casino floors, businesses tied to nightlife and food service saw heavier weekend volume, a reminder of how deeply Atlantic City’s economy is linked to its resort infrastructure. The real test comes in the fall, when the boardwalk quiets down and online betting keeps pulling a larger share of the action.
New Jersey’s performance comes against a backdrop of rising pressure from neighboring states that are no longer content to watch Atlantic City dominate. New York’s downstate casino licensing process is moving forward, with major developers positioning projects that aim to draw both commuter traffic and tourist play. Pennsylvania remains a constant rival as well, with suburban casinos and racetracks pulling in revenue that once flowed east.
New Jersey’s head start in online casinos and mobile betting still gives it an advantage. Years of experience let operators polish their apps, tighten up payment systems, and build loyalty before neighbors even had rules in place. But the edge is getting thinner; higher tax rates that kicked in over the summer are already squeezing margins and pushing up costs across labor, compliance, and the tech investments needed to keep platforms competitive.
The real measure will be how New Jersey adapts to shifts in technology, regulation, and labor costs, a combination that will determine if it can stay the East Coast’s digital gambling leader.
