Evolution, a Sweden-based online gambling technology provider best known in the United States for its live dealer table games on New Jersey online casinos, wants to put down roots in Atlantic City.
According to local news reports, Evolution is proposing the construction of a $75 million campus on Fairmount Avenue to house its live dealer studios. Evolution currently has studios inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, Ocean Casino Resort and Tropicana Atlantic City.
The iGaming tech company has submitted a land use petition with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA), an AC-based state agency tasked with using casino gaming taxes to revitalize the Jersey shore town. CRDA has land-use authority in Atlantic City’s Tourism District, where all nine Atlantic City casinos are located.
New Evolution studio could more than double jobs offered
Evolution wants to build on land currently used as a parking lot, which the CRDA owns. The company is seeking to either purchase the land of receive it as a donation from CRDA.
Atlantic City-based gaming attorney Lloyd D. Levenson of Cooper Levenson is representing Evolution.
Levenson reportedly told CRDA officials that Evolution currently has about 850 employees in Atlantic City, but the number could more than double with a new facility. By 2029, Evolution estimates its staff would increase to about 2,000.
According to New Jersey’s online gaming law, live dealer operations can only be conducted within Atlantic City. The regulations were implemented to limit the economic impact of NJ online gambling on Atlantic City casinos.
Riding wave of skyrocketing NJ online casino growth
Changing customer behavior has led to massive growth for iGaming in the Garden State. Certainly, that spike has stemmed from the popularity of live dealer table games in New Jersey, like those offered by Evolution.
The COVID-19 pandemic was rocket fuel for the online gaming revenue in NJ.
In 2019, the year before the pandemic, online casino gross revenue was nearly $483 million, according to data from the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement. By the end of 2020, the total gross gaming revenue reported by online casino operators exceeded $970 million.
Last year, online gaming netted more than $1.92 billion. Through the first four months of 2024, revenue from online casinos is up nearly 21%.
