New Jersey passes bill to help casinos
The New Jersey Legislature has passed a bill to offer tax relief to casinos.
US.- The New Jersey Legislature and Senate have passed a bill that intends to offer casinos some relief after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The bills will exempt the first $90m of promotional credits, including free play coupons, from taxation for two years.
It also would give the casinos some relief from their 8 per cent state gambling tax responsibility if their 2021 in-person gambling revenue falls below the monthly revenue for the comparable month in the period from March 2019 through February 2020.
This bill now heads to Governor Phil Murphy’s desk after having previously been approved by the Assembly.
The bill’s text says the pandemic caused “a catastrophic and unprecedented economic contraction (that) has devastated the regional economy of Atlantic City and surrounding regions, causing historic layoffs and economic destruction that will have significant negative and long-lasting impacts on casino employees and Atlantic County residents.”
It says: “It is necessary for the state to take action to ensure the continued viability of the Atlantic City region’s financial condition, and to assist the region’s population in dealing with the financial and economic problems resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic”.
More New Jersey gambling bills
The Senate has also passed a bill that would allow a constitutional amendment to permit sports betting on games involving New Jersey college teams, or games played in New Jersey involving college teams from other states.
Both types of bets are currently prohibited. That bill also passed the Senate on Thursday.
A third gambling bill being discussed would allow charitable, religious and other similar groups to conduct bingo or raffles remotely.
A fourth bill would allow a public referendum on a constitutional amendment to allow such organisations to use the proceeds of those games to support their organisations.
These bills have not yet received approval in the Assembly.
