It wasn’t that long ago that brick-and-mortar casinos were wary of online gaming sites. Often igaming was seen as an incursion at worst, and a competitor, for player’s attention and spending.
But brick-and-mortar operations are now embracing online gaming. At the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, the casino and BetMGM are working together to create a more connected player journey, one that moves seamlessly between the casino floor and online.
Borgata Vice President of Casino Operations Jimmy Bruno says there are a number of factors that led to the casino embracing online gambling. First, New Jersey is one of the seven states where igaming is legal (Maine has approved igaming but not yet launched).
The Borgata’s collaboration with BetMGM also has proved to be providential as far as expanding the casino’s offerings. BetMGM – whose slate of options includes casino, racing, sports betting and poker – helps bridge the gap between digital and brick-and-mortar.
“In the digital world, things move a lot quicker than they do in the land-based world,” Bruno says during an interview with CDC Gaming. “But we are getting better every year at engaging both the online and land-based guests for a seamless experience. When you think about a lot of the things that we do, it’s a partnership where we try to make it unique, whether you’re playing three days at home on your phone or three days here in the property.”
In 2025, online revenue from gambling reached $3 billion in New Jersey, nearly equal to the revenue generated by Atlantic City’s casinos, $3.3 billion.
The idea, Bruno says, is that igaming will spur curiosity in the Borgata’s offerings.
“You come into the building, you physically experience it,” Bruno says. “We do a lot of events where there are folks who have never been, not only to the state, to this property,” he says. “There are unique watch parties, VIP polls, there’s things that we do online to (get players to) experience them in this land-based world. It’s a totally different experience than playing online on your iPad.”
The first legal igaming in the United States started in 2013 in Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey. Since then, igaming has grown enormously. The American Gaming Association reported that online revenue reached $10.7 billion in 2025. Bruno says the revenue the Borgata once generated in a month – between $2million-3 million – now accrues in a day.
“What’s unique about our offering is that there are physical games in this building that you can play on our casino floor, and you can go home and log on your iPhone and play that same table with the same dealer,” Bruno says. “It’s a live game, unlike a game in a studio. They’re on our casino floor, streaming to our website.”
Bruno says there are other benefits, including being able to scan a QR code and being able to play a game at home, or being able to invite friends remotely to watch or join play.
“You can have 30 of your friends at home all wagering,” Bruno said. “If you all want to play the same lucky numbers (in roulette), you can play the same lucky numbers together. That’s what’s unique about these tables that are streamed from our gaming course.”
While some jurisdictions have seen a slight erosion of land-based revenue, growth at the Borgata remains steady. What is singular about the Borgata is the options offered via land-based and online games.
“What’s unique is that we just continue to offer unique products in both the land-based and online world,” Bruno says.
