Atlantic City Casinos Report a Surprisingly 11.7% Increase in April 2026, But iGaming and Sports Betting Still Lead
Month after month in recent times, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement's gaming revenue report has been mostly flat for the Atlantic City casino industry.
In fact, in the first quarter of 2026, the city's nine casinos collectively grew revenue only 1.2% compared to the same quarter in 2025.
That's why the recent release of the DGE report for April 2026 was so eye-opening. The industry recorded $235.6 million in revenue, resulting in an impressive 11.7% increase in a year-over-year comparison.
The news was welcomed by operators who in the same month saw the unveiling of Resort World's New York City property in Queens open the first phase of its five-year, multi-phase, multi-billion expansion.
Planning for the Hard Rock casino complex - also in Queens and adjacent to the Mets' Citi Field baseball stadium property - and a Bally's Casino complex in The Bronx remains in development, with both projecting for a 2030 opening.
The looming threat to Atlantic City already has led to some political lobbying for a referendum to seek approval for a casino at the Meadowlands Sports Complex, just a few dozen miles away from all three future New York City gambling locations.
But for the moment, most operators simply can take comfort in a booming April.
Hail Caesars for April revenue
The venerable Caesars casino, which opened in 1979 as the second legal casino east of the Mississippi River, had a 31.9% jump in April revenue to $19.3 million.
That figure was fourth-highest of the nine casinos in the city, as Caesars moved up two spots versus usual mid-tier rivals Harrah's and Tropicana compared to April 2025.
Another big winner was reliable No. 3 casino Ocean on the iconic Boardwalk, rising 19.5% for the month to $36.6 million. Borgata, the standard-bearer for the industry almost since the day it opened in the Marina District to great fanfare in 2003, experienced a 14.5% boost in April to $67 million.
Hard Rock kept a grip on its No. 2 status, rising 9.1% to $45.3 million. An 8.7% boost to $13.2 million allowed Resorts - the city's first casino dating back to 1978 - to keep its spot leading the third tier in the city's casino industry.
There were three casinos that settled for typically flat results in April. Tropicana was up just 1.4% to $16 million, while Harrah's was up 0.9% to $16.5 million.
Golden Nugget actually declined in revenue last month, down 3% to $10.7 million. Four of the city's nine casinos are down for the first months of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.
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Online casino operators again up double digits in April
Even a breakout month for the brick-and-mortar casinos at an 11.7% gain couldn't quite match New Jersey's ever-growing iGaming industry, which was up 11.9% to $263.1 million.
FanDuel in April 2026 vastly enlarged its lead over its online casino rivals. After a 52.9% million month for FanDuel in April 2025 left it with just a $6 million edge, a year later it was $58.9 million to just $41.9 million from its main competitor.
Next in line operators took third at $32.7 million and fourth at $22.4 million.
Meanwhile, other operators like Hard Rock, Caesars Palace, BetFanatics, BetRivers, and Golden Nugget all checked in at between $10 million and $20 million.
Resorts World and Betinia, the state's iGaming brands that are less than a year old, occupied the two bottom spots out of the state's 27 competitors. The biggest gains were by BetFanatics - which more than doubled its revenue - and a 68.6% jump by Hard Rock Bet.
Sports betting gained most of all
While it was a close "three-horse race," New Jersey's sportsbook operators had the biggest gains in April 2026 with a rise of 12.8% to $102.1 million (all but $3.2 million of it retained from mobile gamblers rather than brick-and-mortar casino sportsbooks bettors).
That's an encouraging number for the operators, as they previously had been settling for flat monthly numbers similar to Atlantic City's retail casinos.
FanDuel again extended its margin over competitors in this field of play, with FanDuel up 25% to $39.8 million, compared to second place at $25.8 million off a 15% improvement.
BetFanatics was unable - to say the least - to parlay its iGaming gains in April over to the sportsbook side. A 30.4% decline left BetFanatics, at $9 million, barely nosing out a hard-charging competitor at $8.8 million.
Only one other operator came in over $5 million at $7.1 million, while Caesars, theScore Bet, and Hard Rock Bet also earned seven-figure revenue numbers.
Newcomer Betinia - a partner of the Caesars casino - has become the 16th mobile sportsbook in the state.
The state's $934.2 million in overall sports betting handle was solid for a month that included neither March Madness college basketball nor college and/or pro football. Each of those months is a lock to clear the $1 billion mark in the amount wagered in the state.
The state has collected a total of $332.6 million in taxes from these forms of gambling so far in 2026.
