Atlantic City Taxes Focus Of New NJ Sports Betting Bill

• There is a bill in the NJ State Senate that would redirect tax funding to Atlantic City.
• The funding would be used for property tax relief.
• AC Mayor Marty Small refers to the bill as AC getting its slice of the pie.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Atlantic City might be getting a cut of New Jersey’s sports betting market.

On Thursday, a committee in the New Jersey State Senate advanced a bill that would distribute the revenue from a sports betting tax to Atlantic City - around $2 million a year.

The money would be used for property tax relief in Atlantic City, a major driver of the legal gambling boom in New Jersey.

To many in Atlantic City, the city is being left behind as the state’s sports betting market grows, with nothing to show for its contributions.

Mayor Marty Small decried all the taxes that were put on Atlantic City’s offerings because they did not kick anything back to Atlantic City residents.

“Everyone in this room, and there are about 25 of us, can drive to Atlantic City, said Small. "Once we park our car, that's parking tax. We go to the bar and buy a drink, that's luxury tax. We go into our room, that's the room tax. We go to a late-night show, that's luxury tax again. Then we make a sports bet; that's sports betting tax. Guess what the residents of Atlantic City get from our stay? Zero. When are we going to get our slice of the pie?"

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Troy Singleton, talks about the idea in similar terms.

“This is literally giving money back to taxpayers,” Singleton said. “If we're serious about affordability, here's an opportunity.”

NJ Revenues Could Be Under Threat

New Jersey has long been one of the top sports betting states in the nation, but with the recent regulation of sports betting in New York, that $2 million could be a bigger piece of the pie than expected.

Some estimates put the percentage of New Jersey sports betting revenue that came from NY residents as high as 20%.

Without that extra 20%, it’s possible that New Jersey’s sports betting revenue could be on the downswing in the future.

With that in mind, it’s likely even more important for Atlantic City to get a bill like this passed.

However, it is worth noting that the tax is on the entirety of sports betting in New Jersey - meaning that the total value it brings to AC would be lower if total revenues were lower.

Basically, the pie in New Jersey seems to be shrinking, and there will likely be further fights over it as it does.