Sports Betting

Atlantic City’s Second Act: How New Jersey’s Old Gambling Capital Found Its Online Edge

Atlantic City (AC) used to be the main character of gambling. Boardwalk casinos, bus trips, comped buffets—the works; but when surrounding states built their own casinos and the shine started to wear off, AC took a pretty hard hit. In 2014 alone, four of Atlantic City’s 12 casinos shut down—it was a brutal year that made it clear the old model wasn’t going to carry the city forever. Instead of pretending it was still 2006, New Jersey did what New Jersey does best: it adapted—and then turned that pivot into an empire. During Atlantic City’s second act, the boardwalk gambling town helped New Jersey become one of the most influential online betting markets in the U.S., effectively creating the blueprint for the rest of the country.

Read more: NFL Betting: The Ultimate Guide for the 2025/2026 Football Season

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From Boardwalk Boom to Casino Doom

The fall of Atlantic City wasn’t because people stopped liking gambling; it was that gambling stopped being exclusive. By 2013, state regulators were already noticing casino revenue fall below $3 billion for the first time in decades, and the pressure only intensified as neighboring states expanded gaming closer to people’s homes.

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Then came 2014—the year that put Atlantic City’s “reinvention arc” on a timer: Showboat, Revel, Trump Plaza, and Atlantic Club closed. Thousands of workers were suddenly out of jobs, and the city’s casino economy looked shaky enough that a “boardwalk comeback” started sounding like a wish instead of a plan.

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So, New Jersey went looking for an edge.

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The First Big Pivot: Legal Online Casino Gaming (And Why It Was Built Around Atlantic City)

New Jersey’s online story doesn’t start with sports betting—it starts with internet casino gaming, legalized in 2013 as a way to support Atlantic City’s casino industry. Here’s the key part that made New Jersey different (and honestly, smarter):

New Jersey Didn’t “Replace” Atlantic City—It Tethered the Internet To It

The 2013 law was designed so that internet gaming was tied directly to Atlantic City casino licenses—and it emphasized that online gaming would run through equipment located in Atlantic City (in secure facilities controlled by the casino licensee and/or affiliates).

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That tethering idea did two huge things:

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Kept Atlantic City in the business, even if you were betting from your couch.

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Made regulation easier because New Jersey could treat online as an extension of existing casino oversight, not a wild west tech experiment.

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When New Jersey launched legal online gambling, it wasn’t a casual rollout. It involved licensing, technical investigations, geolocation standards, and a full regulatory framework built by the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE)—and the launch date matters historically.

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Online gambling officially launched November 26, 2013, making New Jersey one of the earliest U.S. states with broad, regulated online gambling (beyond just limited poker). In turn, Atlantic City didn’t lose customers to the internet—it “moved” its tables online. New Jersey basically built a legal, regulated pipeline from your phone to the Boardwalk.

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New Jersey’s “Online Edge” Wasn’t Just Legal—It Was Technical

A lot of states eventually legalized online betting; however, fewer states built the infrastructure to make it actually work at scale.

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New Jersey’s early internet gaming era required solutions for the things bettors now take for granted:

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Geolocation (proving you’re inside New Jersey borders)
Identity Verification / Anti-Fraud and Underage Prevention
Licensing + Compliance tied to existing casino oversight

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If these sound familiar, it’s because modern mobile sportsbooks run on these exact systems. New Jersey was troubleshooting back when most states were still arguing about whether online gambling should exist.

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The Second Pivot: Sports Betting—And the PASPA Fight That Changed the Entire U.S.

Now for that part that made New Jersey a national blueprint and not just a smart early adopter:

PASPA: The Federal Law That Blocked Most States From Legal Sports Betting

For decades, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) prevented states from authorizing sports betting. New Jersey challenged that system—and the fight ended at the Supreme Court.

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In Murphy v. NCAA (decided May 14, 2018), the Court struck down PASPA’s restrictions as unconstitutional under the “anti-commandeering” principle, opening the door for state-by-state legalization.

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Basically, New Jersey didn’t just join the wave—it created it.

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Why Atlantic City Benefited Immediately

New Jersey already had:

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Regulated gaming infrastructure
DGE oversight
Casino brands + operator partnerships
Online systems (accounts, geolocation, payments, etc.)

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So… sport betting didn’t need to be built from scratch. It was more like adding a new lane to an already-functioning highway.

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Mobile Sportsbooks: The Growth in Modern Atlantic City

Here’s the part that explains Atlantic City’s “online edge”: New Jersey’s biggest betting growth isn’t happening on the Boardwalk—it’s happening through Atlantic City-licensed brands on your phone.

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You can see it in state reporting: New Jersey tracks online sports wagering and retail sports wagering separately, and online is overwhelmingly taking the lead. For example, in the DGE’s October 2025 numbers, online sports wagering revenue vastly outweighed retail sports wagering revenue.

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Internet casino gaming is also a powerhouse. In that same October 2025 report, New Jersey’s year-to-date internet gaming win is reported in the billions—a sign that the “online extension” of Atlantic City’s model isn’t just surviving; it’s thriving.

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How Taxes & Regulations Matured Alongside Growth

New Jersey’s reporting and regulatory ecosystem also grew with the market. For example, the DGE’s October 2025 report noted that effective as of July 1, 2025, tax rates increased for internet gaming and online sports wagering—up to 19.75%.

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That’s part of what “online edge” means in practice: this market is not only big, it’s structured.

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Did Online Betting “Save” Atlantic City?

Atlantic City didn’t turn back time to the thriving years of the early-2000s, but online revenue helped New Jersey’s overall gambling industry hit major highs in the modern era—and it certainly helped Atlantic City casinos stay relevant in a world where their biggest competitor is someone’s phone. An Associated Press report on New Jersey gambling revenue noted that internet gambling and sports betting contributed heavily to New Jersey’s overall gaming revenue, hitting an all-time high in 2022.

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That’s the “Second Act”:

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The Boardwalk is still the brand.
But the growth engine is digital.
And New Jersey’s legal + technical model became the template other states studied after PASPA fell.

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What This Means For Bettors Today

If you’re betting in New Jersey, you’re betting in one of the most “battled-tested” markets in the country—because NJ had to learn early how to regulate, verify, and scale online wagering. In other words, you get a market that’s competitive, regulated, and built on systems that have been stress-tested for over a decade.

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Overall, Atlantic City’s pivot proves one thing: the house will always evolve faster than the casual bettor. So if you’re using mobile sportsbooks, do what New Jersey did:

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