Budget uncertainties at the state and federal levels have led to talks on developing a new Atlantic City casino payment-in-lieu-of-taxes law being paused, state Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic, said this week.
Gov. Phil Murphy has proposed a 2026 budget of $58.05 billion that raises state taxes by an estimated $400 million on online gambling and online sports betting, further muddying the issue.
Also complicating talks is the county’s lawsuit against the state over amendments to the first PILOT law, which is still pending.
“We have a city that has been crippled from a tourism perspective for brick and mortar, and we have New York gaming on the horizon,” Polistina said of a decrease in in-person gaming revenues for six of the city’s nine casinos that has persisted since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
