Atlantic City Council backs Mayor's request for a cut of NJ sports betting tax

Mayor Marty Small has made his case to a state Assembly committee, and last week, the City Council passed a resolution supporting that quest.

2019-12-11

United States

Reading time 1:48 min

City Council voted for a resolution Friday aims to obtain the same deal that communities hosting two racetracks get. Both New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Senate President Steve Sweeney have dismissed the idea. Since sports betting began in New Jersey, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has received nearly $1.6 million, and the municipalities and counties have gotten nearly $2 million from this tax.

The Atlantic City Council registered its support for the mayor’s initiative to obtain a percentage of sports betting taxes that other municipalities receive but Atlantic City does not.

City Council voted for a resolution Friday urging state lawmakers to redirect 1.25% of sports betting revenue taxes to the city to be used for public safety, The Press of Atlantic City reports. Currently, 1.25% of taxable revenue generated from sportsbooks in Atlantic City and their online partners goes to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) for marketing.

The same law that established the additional tax — it is on top of the set rates for retail and online/mobile sports betting — sends the money directly to the host municipalities of sports gambling facilities at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park racetracks —East Rutherford and Holmdel.

Mayor Marty Small Sr. has publicly called out the disparity and even testified before a state Assembly committee, telling lawmakers that the city needed the money to offset massive loses in its rateable base. “We’re not asking for anything that no one else gets,” Small has previously said. “That’s going to be the fight. I represent the taxpayers. My No. 1 priority, and it always will be, is to stand and fight for them.”

Both New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland, dismissed the idea that Atlantic City should receive tax revenue from gaming when asked about the mayor’s proposal during the New Jersey State League of Municipalities conference last month.

“You can’t talk about raising taxes or finding new sources of revenue until you really do have your house in order,” Sweeney last month told The Press of Atlantic City about Small’s proposal. “This city still has a long way to go.”

Since the additional sports betting tax law was enacted in 2018, the CRDA has received nearly $1.6 million. During the same timeframe, the host municipalities and counties of the two racetracks have netted $1.97 million.

Atlantic City remains under a state takeover of most municipal power that was launched under former Republican Gov. Chris Christie, with the blessing of the Democratic-controlled state Legislature, including Sweeney.