Ocean City loves calling itself America's Greatest Family Resort. No booze, no casinos, clean beaches, wholesome boardwalk stuff. Been that way forever and it works.
Thing is, the rest of the world moved on. And now there's this weird tension around what "family entertainment" actually means in 2026.
Okay so. No alcohol in Ocean City. No casinos. Everyone knows this, nobody's changing it, lots of people like it that way. Fine.
But the families who come here? They don't live in some alternate universe. Back home they've got access to online casinos, sports betting apps, all of it. Plenty of them use that stuff regularly. It's just normal life for them.
So what happens is... family hits the boardwalk, does Playland, gets pizza at Manco & Manco, has a great wholesome day. Kids pass out at 9pm. Parents end up on the couch scrolling their phones. One of them opens up a blackjack app or slots or whatever.
Super common. Just nobody mentions it.
I spent a few weekends this past summer casually chatting with visitors about their entertainment habits. Nothing scientific, just conversations on the beach and at coffee shops.
Pretty much the same story from everyone. They pick Ocean City FOR the family friendly vibe. Want the kids to have that classic beach vacation thing.
Doesn't mean mom and dad suddenly stop being themselves though. Multiple people mentioned checking out game reviews on Spinoplex or similar platforms as part of their evening routine after family time was done.
One dad put it this way: "Ocean City is perfect for what we want during the day. But I'm still me. I still like the same stuff I like at home."
Some people argue that Ocean City should relax its stance on certain things to capture more tourist dollars. Others say the town's strict family image is exactly what makes it valuable.
I think both sides miss something important. The visitors who come here aren't choosing between "family entertainment" and "adult entertainment" in some either/or way. They're doing both. Just not in the same physical location.
The money they spend in Ocean City during the day isn't being cannibalized by what they do on their phones at night. If anything, the people who engage with online gaming tend to be comfortable spending money on entertainment generally. They're probably not the ones skipping dinner out to save a few bucks.
It's worth looking at how neighboring communities approach things differently. Atlantic City obviously leans fully into gaming. Sea Isle, Wildwood - they do their own thing.
Ocean City found what works for them and stuck with it. Good for them honestly. But that audience is changing, even if the town itself stays the same.
The question isn't whether Ocean City should suddenly open casinos. That's not happening. The question is whether the town's marketing and self-image needs to acknowledge the reality of how modern families actually behave.
I don't have strong opinions about what Ocean City should do. The dry town policy and family focus have served it well for generations.
But I do think there's a conversation worth having about authenticity versus image. The families who visit here aren't Puritans. They're regular people with regular entertainment preferences who also happen to value a certain kind of beach vacation.
Pretending that the online gaming piece doesn't exist seems like a missed opportunity at minimum. Maybe there's a way to acknowledge modern entertainment realities while still maintaining what makes Ocean City special.
Or maybe everything's fine as is and this whole article was pointless. Could go either way honestly.
Point is, those families on the beach are real people with real lives. Not characters in a tourism commercial. Might be worth remembering that.
