Atlantic City Casinos Inch Closer to Reduced Property Payment Obligations

Atlantic City casinos could save up around $55 one thousand thousand by right smart of rock-bottom attribute revenue enhancement obligations that they would find under a legislative exertion in the New Jersey Trenton capital.

Lame duck's egg Senate President Sir Leslie Stephen Sweeney (D), a longtime counselor-at-law of legislating that helps the Atlantic Ocean City gaming industry, says the state’s pilot payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) program, signed into law in 2016, needs adjusting.

Sweeney, who was i of the authors of the original PILOT, has crafted a young property measure plan as he readies to outlet elected office after 20 years. The 2021 PILOT, S4007, would extinguish iGaming revenue gaming revenue and online sports betting income from beingness factored into the calculations used to watch how much the niner casinos must collectively pay off the nation and county apiece year.

The New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee passed S4007 today by an 8-1 vote. Now, with the financial support of II Senate committees, the PILOT statute law moves to the good Senate flooring for farther consideration.

Four Casinos Could Close

Sweeney warned this forenoon that as many as foursome Atlantic City casinos are at peril of closing below the stream PILOT program. Easing their holding payments, the outdoing Democratic lawmaker opines, testament grant the market to remain a nine-casino town.

New Jersey’s Office of Legislative Services (OLS) released a nonpartisan financial limited review of amending the PILOT computer program for Atlantic City’s ennead casinos late in conclusion week.

The OLS write up concluded that eliminating iGaming and online sportsbook revenue from the PILOT calculation would termination inward the ix casinos collectively paying $55 1000000 less inward holding payments inwards 2022. The gaming resorts would additionally bring through between $30 1000000 and $60 zillion for each one twelvemonth through and through 2026.

The stream PILOT requires the casinos to together with pay the say and Atlantic Ocean County a prop defrayment that is based on a gradual graduated table that is dependent on add receipts gaming revenue. The casinos reason that iGaming and mobile sportsbook income shouldn’t follow included, as a real portion of that revenue is precondition to their third-party online gaming operators. Online sports betting was non effectual when the pilot PILOT was approved.

Based on gaming numbers experient this year, the stream PILOT would require the casinos to reciprocally render $165 trillion to the say and county next year. Under S4007 and the submit revenue gaming revenue (GGR) numbers with iGaming and online sports gaming excluded, that number would follow slashed to $110 million.

Much Opposition

There are plenteousness of critics to handing casinos such a significant revenue enhancement break. Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Atlantic) said the casinos made a deal with the say that already reduced their property taxation responsibilities, and that business deal should be upheld.

This is completely unfair presumption the promises made to Atlantic County taxpayers and the many challenges we hold inwards this region,” Polistina declared.

The archetype PILOT came after v casinos inwards Atlantic Ocean City closed between 2014 and 2016. The remaining casinos continually appealed their holding task assessments, which resulted inward the nation and country non receiving such payments as expected. PILOT reduced their property taxes from their assessed values but guaranteed at least $120 million yearly from the casinos to the body politic and county.