Atlantic City Casino Tax Bills to Be Amended

In its monthly reports, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement at the moment combines mobile sports betting and online casino revenue in conventional brick-and-mortar dollars.

As a result, the casinos’ sales projections for 2020 do not seem to be as grim.

DGE said in its year-end press release.

Considering the total closure of the casino properties from the middle of March to the 4th of July holidays and were only open on restricted grounds for the rest of the year, that seems pretty good.

The disparity is due to a doubling in online casino sales to $970.3 million and a one-third increase of revenue from sports betting to $398.5 million (90% of this was from online betting apps).

In a January radio interview, Hard Rock executive Joe Lupo criticized how the DGE filed its paper.

The casinos have collaborated with online casino operators and mobile sports betting app providers to include such gaming in the state. However, the casinos only collect an unknown portion of the revenue, which means combining brick-and-mortar and online dollars yields estimates that embellish the casinos’ own earnings.

The city’s problems with the casinos were exacerbated by the decreasing value of the properties, which resulted in several active tax refund appeals for the casinos.

As a result, a 10-year proposal was devised for casinos to make payments in lieu of property taxes (PILOTs), establishing an annual mandated minimum property tax–related contribution to the city to assist officials in budgeting.

The bill will set the PILOT payment for 2022 at $125 million. Even if the industry recovers significantly between 2021 and 2025, the PILOT commitment will likely decrease by tens of millions of dollars overall compared to the current system. The maximum annual PILOT will also be reduced from $150 million to $135 million.

But the casinos affected by the bill will be required to pay the city an extra $5 million a year until 2026. Until 2023, the new legislation puts a stop to these payments.

The alternative tax proposal will remain in effect until the end of 2026.