New Jersey Assembly committee advances North Jersey casino bill

A resolution that would authorize casino gaming outside Atlantic City is moving forward in the Legislature.

The New Jersey Assembly’s judiciary committee voted 6-2 on Monday to approve the resolution, which would let the voters decide in November whether to authorize two new casinos in the northern part of the state. The referendum would amend the state Constitution to permit casino gambling outside of Atlantic City.

This is despite the fact that the key details including the tax rate the new casinos would pay is still missing. The amendment did not also specify the locations of the new casinos, but said that they must be at least 72 miles away from Atlantic City and be in separate counties.

Assemblyman Chris Brown, who voted against the bill, said that it should be held until the tax rate the new casinos will pay on their gambling revenue is specified, in addition to his previous argument that according to Deutsche Bank’s estimate, Atlantic City could lose $500 million in gaming revenue if there are North Jersey casinos, offsetting any revenue gains from the new casinos.