New Legislation: Make iGaming No Longer a Factor in Atlantic City Property Tax Calculations

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The newest trend in gambling is that you can do it from your couch. Internet gaming (“iGaming”) has become a staple of the casino industry. In New Jersey, under a law passed in 2014, iGaming is factored into gross gaming revenue (GGR) in calculating the property tax on nine land-based casinos in Atlantic City. The law guarantees that the state will see at least $120 million in property tax revenues annually, with the possibility the state could collect up to $165 million if GGR is above $3.4 billion.

Assembly Bill 5587, proposed by Assemblyman John Armato (D-Atlantic), seeks to remove iGaming from GGR considerations for property tax purposes. The reasoning behind the bill is due to the financial strain caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic. While iGaming doubled in revenue, generating $970.3 million, overall GGR was down 16% as the brick-and-mortar casino establishments lost nearly $1.2 billion in casino gambling from the previous year. Additionally, the iGaming services are provided through third-party vendors who receive a portion of the proceeds, so the casinos do not see the entire amount.

To read a draft of Assembly Bill 5587, please click here.

To read an article about the legislation from casino.com, please click the link here.

The author acknowledges the assistance of William Olson, a Law Clerk at McKirdy, Riskin, Olson & DellaPelle, in preparing this article. Mr. Olson is a member of the Class of 2021 at Rutgers Law School.