There has been a lot of talk recently about how Atlantic City is not getting its fair share of New Jersey’s sports betting tax revenue. Local lawmakers believe NJ’s gambling capital deserves a bigger piece of the pie.
The Atlantic City Council recently passed a resolution regarding the allocation of taxes from sports betting. The idea was first brought forward by Mayor Marty Small Sr. The resolution would see the city take a cut of the 1.25% tax on AC sports betting revenue and use it to fund public safety programs.
The Press of Atlantic City reported that the 2018 sports betting tax is accessed with other tax revenues that are generated by Atlantic City sportsbooks and their online betting partners. All proceeds from the tax revenue currently go towards programs managed by the state’s Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA).
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Atlantic City officials are unhappy about the current allocation of funds. The communities that surround Monmouth Park Racetrack and Meadowlands Racetrack are getting a bigger slice of the revenue pie even though they house fewer sportsbooks than AC.
Mayor Small has castigated New Jersey lawmakers for this discrepancy. He even testified at a hearing with the New Jersey General Assembly committee, which had a current investigation going on about the matter. The Democrat told New Jersey legislators that Atlantic City has to cash in on sports betting tax revenue so it can offset losses incurred from its appraisable base.
Small told The Press of Atlantic City: “We’re not asking for anything that no one else gets. That’s going to be the fight. I represent the taxpayers. My number-one priority, and it always will be, is to stand and fight for them.”
The CRDA has been allocated about $1.6 million from the 1.25% sports betting tax since it was implemented in 2018. The communities that host the Meadowlands Racetrack and Monmouth Park Racetrack have raked in around $2 million.