Judge Temporarily Halts His Order Denying AC Casino Tax Break
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The state of New Jersey has requested a temporary stay of a ruling that found a lucrative annual tax break for Atlantic City's casinos unconstitutional. The stay is limited to 90 days, contingent upon a higher court agreeing to hear the case. For tax purposes, state regulators lump revenue from online casino gaming and mobile sports betting in with dollars earned by casinos at their brick-and-mortar facilities. About two-thirds of the new forms of revenue is retained by the casino business partners that actually run those operations.
The state wants to delay the ruling pending a court review. The casinos reported $767 million in gross operating profit in 2021. They would be required to pay $110 million. The nine Atlantic City casinos made $2.55 billion in revenue from their brick-and-mortar operations in the same period. At issue is their tax levy for the additional $1.37 billion won from online casino play and more than $300 million won in mobile sports betting.
Grossman says the state is creating chaos by amending the PILOT payment process late last year. He also notes that DGE officials can exempt money from online casino and mobile sports betting from the total gross gaming revenue that sets the amount that casinos owe. Blee disputes the argument that the casino industry suffered more from pandemic and other associated risks than any other business in Atlantic City or Atlantic County.
