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The Atlantic City casino industry is starting to take shape for the summer. In May, casinos in “America’s Playground” produced $265.3 million in revenue.
That was an impressive 20% jump from April’s $211 million.
Much of the talk this year has been about online casinos outperforming Atlantic City casinos. While that may be, the latter was impressive in May, which could provide fuel for the summer months.
Impressive year-over-year results
May is when Atlantic City casinos routinely start to step up. The industry did that big-time last month, according to numbers provided by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement on Monday.
While Atlantic City casino revenue has declined each month in 2025, May proved to be an outlier. It also was a significant 10% year-over-year leap.
Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of LIGHT at Stockton University, admitted to PlayNJ that it’s been a rough year for Atlantic City casinos.
“A little sunshine and an extra Saturday helped Atlantic City’s casino operators realize the best single month brick-and-mortar gross gaming revenue in the year to date and the best May return in recent years.”
The industry in May significantly outperformed the same month in the post-pandemic years:
- May 2022: $223.0 million
- May 2023: $227.3 million
- May 2024: $239.1 million
The vertical also crushed pre-pandemic May totals:
- May 2017: $208.3 million
- May 2018: $193.3 million
- May 2019: $222.9 million
Retail casinos vs. online casinos
New Jersey online casinos have been more and more popular ever since the pandemic. The upcoming warmer weather, however, could favor Atlantic City casinos. People will have their sights set on the Jersey Shore.
So far in 2025, both retail and online industries have been almost neck-and-neck. Online casinos have produced $1.16 billion compared to retail properties’ $1.12 billion through five months.
The Atlantic City market is expected to hover around $300 million each month throughout the summer, which could help the entire New Jersey retail casino industry separate itself from online gambling.
Either way, Atlantic City casinos will remain a vital part of the gambling industry in New Jersey.
