Atlantic City hotel occupancy rises in Q1 2026; North Carolina implements prediction markets tax and raises sports betting tax; Kansas sees limited World Cup boost in June; Playtech boosted by Americas growth; plus the week’s other news from North America.
Atlantic City hotel occupancy rises in Q1 2026
Atlantic City’s casinos reported hotel occupancy of 65 per cent for the first quarter of 2026, with a total of 15,424 rooms available.
The occupancy rate was up by 2 percentage points from 63 per cent in Q1 2025.
No hotel in Atlantic City managed to achieve 80 per cent occupancy in Q1 2026, but Hard Rock had the highest room occupancy rate at 78 per cent and 131,875 occupied room nights.
Ocean Casino’s occupancy rate was 75 per cent, equivalent to 124,917 occupied room nights.
Golden Nugget reported the lowest quarterly occupancy rate of 44 per cent.
The average rate per occupied room in Atlantic City for Q1 2026 rose by 1 per cent from 2025 to $161 and ranged from $101 at Golden Nugget to $234 at Ocean Casino.
Kansas
Kansas’ sportsbooks saw a limited wagering boost from the FIFA World Cup in June, as wagers fell by 4 per cent to $177.2 million. Online betting was down by 3 per cent to $175.6 million, while retail wagers fell by 53 per cent to $1.6 million, its lowest month since launch. DraftKings was the leading brand on wagers of $71.3 million, well ahead of FanDuel’s $54.1 million. Monthly betting win fell by 42 per cent to $12.7 million, which was the lowest total of 2026 so far.
Maryland
Maryland’s six land-based casinos posted a 2 per cent drop in gaming revenue for June to $156.8 million. Slot machine revenue was unchanged at $111.2 million, while table gaming win was 8 per cent lower than a year ago at $45.7 million. Ocean Downs Casino was the only property to grow revenue with a rise of 4 per cent to $8.8 million, while MGM National Harbor reported a fall of 1 per cent to $66.6 million and remained the state’s leading casino.
Illinois
Back into May, video lottery terminal (VLT) operators in Illinois took total wagers of $3.23 billion, a year-on-year rise of 4 per cent. There were 49,415 gaming terminals installed across 8,984 venues in the state, which won $299.2 million in monthly revenue, an increase of 5 per cent versus the corresponding period last year. Springfield municipality had the highest revenue of $5.4 million, ahead of Decatur’s $4.2 million and Rockford’s $4.0 million.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s gaming revenue climbed by 30 per cent to $46.9 million in May, the third consecutive month with revenue of more than $40 million. Video lottery terminals (VLTs) earned their best monthly revenue at $24.3 million and accounted for more revenue than charity games and historic horse racing combined. Revenue from charity games increased by 5 per cent to $10.4 million but historic horse racing saw a 53 per cent decline in revenue to $12.3 million.
Kentucky
Kentucky’s sports wagers increased by 15 per cent in May to $240.5 million, with online wagers up by 16 per cent to $237.2 million, offsetting a 26 per cent drop in retail betting to $3.4 million, its lowest level since July 2025. Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) only rose by 1 per cent to $25.9 million, as online AGR grew by 2 per cent to $25.5 million but retail AGR fell by 37 per cent to $364,752. DraftKings improved its online wagers by 16 per cent to $89.4 million, while FanDuel’s wagers rose by 10 per cent to $75.9 million.
Missouri
Missouri’s licensed sportsbooks generated total sports wagers in May of $256.4 million, the state’s lowest total since launch in December 2025. The division of betting in May was $252.6 million from mobile and $3.8 million from retail, and took the total in the first six months since launch above $2 billion. DraftKings was the leading mobile betting brand on wagers of $94.7 million, clear of FanDuel on $82.6 million and Fanatics in third place on $22.1 million.
Ohio
In Ohio, sports wagers grew by less than 1 per cent in May to $744.1 million. The online betting sector had a 1 per cent rise in wagering to $733.1 million but this was reduced by a 22 per cent fall in retail betting to $11.0 million. Gross betting revenue was down by 0.5 per cent to $88.5 million and taxable revenue was unchanged from May 2025 at $88.9 million.
Florida
Florida’s commercial gaming revenue fell by 1 per cent in May to $82.1 million, on weaker slot machine revenue, which was down by 3 per cent to $60.7 million from 6,864 devices. The average daily revenue per machine from slots was 2 per cent less than May 2025 at $285. Revenue at the state’s cardrooms increased by 6 per cent to $21.4 million and was the best total of 2026 so far.
North Carolina has adopted a new prediction markets tax and increased the tax on online sports betting under the FY27 state budget signed by Governor Josh Stein.
Lawmakers in Massachusetts have dropped a short-lived plan to allow tables games at Plainridge Park and have opted instead to legalize historical horse racing (HHR).
California’s cardroom operators are voicing relief and support after a San Francisco judge ruled in their favor, blocking state regulations that would have stripped blackjack from their gaming floors.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has signed an executive order prohibiting state executive branch employees from using non-public government information to profit on prediction markets.
Playtech has revealed that its results for the first half of 2026 would be “significantly” ahead of market expectations, following continued growth in the Americas.
Scientific Games has launched a new suite of systems technology for the Arizona Lottery, marking one of the biggest upgrades in the lottery’s 45-year history.
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has filed a federal lawsuit against the Kansas Lottery for violating its sovereignty by operating within the Nation’s reservation boundaries.
This week’s games and platform integrations round-up features Playtech’s Logic Labs, Play’n GO, Yggdrasil, Relax Gaming, Evolution’s Nolimit City and Pragmatic Play.
Great Canadian Entertainment has come under fire again from Ontario’s gambling regulator over money laundering failures at its Pickering Casino Resort.
The New York Lottery’s sales neared $600 million in the four weeks to 27 June, rising by 1 per cent to $591.6 million.
The Coalition for Prediction Markets has appointed former CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz as senior advisor.
Bragg Gaming Group is laying off 19 per cent of its global workforce in a bid to become cash generative.
Kambi Group is entering Alberta’s regulated gambling market with a multi-year agreement to serve as the technology partner of leading casino operator Pure Casino Entertainment.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has appointed Dominique John Lopez as the acting director of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.
Wagering on horse racing in the United States was down by 5 per cent in June to $911.9 million, taking the total for the first half of 2026 to $5.52 billion.
Southern District of New York Judge Analisa Torres has ruled against Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction in its case against the New York State Gaming Commission.
Caesars Entertainment has officially opened doors to its new Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino in Nevada.
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians has named Kathy George as chief executive of its Four Winds Ventures investment arm.
Accel Entertainment has completed a full machine conversion at Northern Winz Casino II in Montana for the Chippewa Cree Tribe.
IGT has launched its online casino games in South Africa for the first time in partnership with leading operator Hollywoodbets.
UK National Lottery operator Allwyn has confirmed the launch date for its new Powerball game, marking the first time the jackpot draw game is launching outside of the United States.
Octoplay is preparing to launch its casino games with Entain in five additional markets, including the Canadian province of Alberta next week.
Jackpot.com has expanded its offering with the launch of real-money skill games from THNDR.
RubyPlay is adding platform-level engagement tools to its product portfolio after acquiring jackpot solutions provider Splash Tech.
Soft2Bet has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Ryan Collinge as executive vice president, group business development and strategic partnerships.