Evolution Gaming Opens 60,000 Sq Ft Live Dealer Studio at Atlantic City Showboat

Evolution Gaming has officially received the green light from New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement to open a major live dealer studio at Atlantic City's Showboat property. The 60,000-square-foot facility will occupy the second floor of the hotel and marks the company's largest iGaming studio to date, significantly expanding its footprint in one of the most mature regulated online casino markets in the United States.

The Showboat studio joins Evolution's existing live dealer operations at three other Atlantic City properties: Tropicana, Hard Rock, and Ocean Casino. These facilities serve as broadcasting hubs for live casino products delivered to online players across multiple operators, including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars Palace Online Casino, Hard Rock Bet, BetFanatics, and BetRivers. The expansion reflects Evolution's strategy to meet growing demand from the state's iGaming operators without requiring additional gaming licenses for the Showboat property itself.

The timing of this announcement aligns with New Jersey's robust online casino market performance. In 2025, the state generated $2.91 billion in online casino revenue, with growth accelerating to 13 percent through September 2026. This outpaces physical casino performance, which declined 1.3 percent during the same nine-month period, even as Atlantic City's nine casinos collectively generated $2.89 billion from in-person slots and table games. The divergence underscores why major iGaming suppliers like Evolution are prioritizing digital broadcasting infrastructure over traditional gaming floors.

Evolution's decision to pursue the Showboat location represents a strategic pivot from earlier ambitions. In 2024, the company announced plans for a much larger $75 million investment in a 130,000-square-foot studio at 2301 Fairmount Avenue. That project was later abandoned in favor of the Showboat site, which allows the company to increase capacity more quickly without navigating additional development hurdles.

For Showboat owner Bart Blatstein, the Evolution partnership provides a critical revenue opportunity amid significant financial pressures. The property faces foreclosure proceedings related to an allegedly unpaid $48.5 million mortgage from Barclays Capital Real Estate, combined with unpaid insurance premiums exceeding $1 million, unresolved property renovation and mold remediation obligations, and a state tax lien surpassing $400,000. Since Caesars Entertainment closed the casino in 2014, Blatstein has operated the property as a hotel while developing attractions like the Island Waterpark and Lucky Snake arcade. The Evolution studio offers a path to monetize a portion of the asset through a high-value commercial tenant.

Evolution's expansion reflects the consolidation of New Jersey's iGaming supply chain around a handful of dominant providers. The company's portfolio includes not only proprietary live dealer products but also gaming software brands acquired over time, including NetEnt, Red Tiger, and DigiWheel. As online casino markets mature and competition intensifies among operators, live dealer studios have become increasingly central to product differentiation. The Showboat facility positions Evolution to support greater game variety and table availability for its licensees across the state, particularly as the market continues its steady growth trajectory.