Evolution Launches Live Dealer Studio From Showboat Atlantic City

Evolution has expanded its live dealer offering in New Jersey with its largest iGaming studio to date.

The Press of Atlantic City was the first to report that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has greenlit Evolution’s new online casino studio hosted at the Showboat. The non-gaming hotel is renting 60,000 square feet of space on the Boardwalk property’s second floor to the business-to-business iGaming services provider.

The Showboat live dealer studio joins Evolution’s iGaming feeds from Tropicana, Hard Rock, and Ocean Casino. The Evolution spaces allow remote players to gamble on live dealer table games and physical slot machines.

In addition to its live dealer casino services, Evolution develops interactive iGaming products under several brands such as NetEnt, Red Tiger, and DigiWheel. Evolution works with most iGaming leaders in New Jersey, including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars Palace Online Casino, Hard Rock Bet, BetFanatics, and BetRivers.

iGaming Outpacing Retail

In-person Atlantic City casino revenue has plateaued in recent years.

In 2022, the nine casinos won $2.78 billion on their physical slots and table games. Legacy gaming revenue was $2.84 billion in 2023, $2.81 billion in 2024, and $2.89 billion in 2025. Through September, in-person Atlantic City casino revenue is down 1.3%.

Meanwhile, iGaming in New Jersey has set an annual record in every full calendar year since the market launched. Online casino platforms have posted 12 consecutive years of record growth, with gamblers losing $2.91 billion to the iGaming operators in 2025. 2026 is poised for another all-time high, as iGaming win is up 13% through September.

New Jersey is a critical market for Evolution, though the Swedish-based iGaming firm scrapped its 2024 plans to invest $75 million to build a 130,000-square-foot broadcasting studio at 2301 Fairmount Avenue. Evolution said the Showboat opportunity presented a faster-to-market solution to satisfy pressing capacity needs.

Showboat Future

The Showboat remains in financial limbo, as owner Bart Blatstein continues to fend off foreclosure efforts.

Computershare Trust Company, a specialized financial administrator that provides debt trustee and asset administration services, alleges in a court filing that Blatstein hasn’t paid his $48.5 million mortgage held by Barclays Capital Real Estate since early April 2025. Computershare claims Blatstein hasn’t paid over $1 million in insurance premiums and has failed to uphold the lending terms requiring room renovations and mold remediation.

Blatstein additionally faces a state lien stemming from unpaid taxes in excess of $400,000.

Showboat operated as a casino until 2014, when Caesars Entertainment shuttered the resort and placed a deed restriction preventing gambling at the property.

Blatstein acquired the hotel in early 2016 for $23 million. He invested $100 million in the Island Waterpark and many millions more in transforming the former Mardi Gras-themed casino into the Lucky Snake, an arcade billed as the “largest in the world.”