Last December, New York state regulators officially finalized three new casino licenses, which had been anticipated for years by stakeholders in New Jersey and Atlantic City. Now that the dust has settled, the newly elected Governor of New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, has been in office for a while, and discussions about the state's next steps have officially begun. Sherrill, who replaced the long-time pro-gambling former Governor Phil Murphy and remained mostly silent on gambling issues during her campaign, has recently met with local leaders and media to discuss the gambling economy in the Garden State, expecting to get more involved in the future. Frankly speaking, with these three major projects landing in New York, the days in Atlantic City are definitely not going to be as good as before.
New York's Three Major Projects: A Hundred Billion Investment Pressures, AC Faces Direct Impact
In Queens, the Genting Group is undertaking a $5.5 billion renovation and expansion of Resorts World NYC racino; Mets owner Steve Cohen is collaborating with Hard Rock to build an $8 billion Metropolitan Park resort; Bally‘s Group is constructing a $4 billion resort at its Bronx golf course. A CBRE report this month predicts that by 2031, the mature New York City gambling market's annual GGR will reach $4.7 to $5.6 billion, becoming the second largest casino market in the US after Las Vegas. For comparison, Atlantic City's nine casinos had a total GGR of $2.89 billion in 2025, with state tax revenue of $216.8 million. The New York State Gaming Location Board estimated last year that over the decade to 2036, the three new licenses could generate over $7 billion in gambling taxes and $5.9 billion in non-gambling taxes. This volume gap is enough to put pressure on New Jersey.
Internal Disagreement: The Struggle Between Online Gambling and Physical Casinos
The biggest issue facing Sherrill, as she hinted, is a split industry on multiple issues. The most contentious is the relationship between Atlantic City and state online gambling. New Jersey was a pioneer in online gambling in the US, launching first in 2013. Physical casino supporters argue that online gambling eats into revenue, while online operators counter that total GGR has been growing since its launch. New Jersey has set GGR records for two consecutive years, with total revenue of $6.98 billion in 2025, a 10% increase from 2024. However, the growth of the two types of businesses is not balanced—last year, New Jersey's online GGR ($2.91 billion) surpassed Atlantic City's physical casinos for the first time, with online annual growth at 22%, while physical was only 2.7%. In February this year, online revenue grew 20% year-over-year to $251 million, while AC physical remained flat at $202 million. Notably, New Jersey reinvests 5% of online GGR into the redevelopment of Atlantic City, which Sherrill calls a "good" mechanism, but it may not be enough to withstand New York's competition.
Old Issue Revisited: Controversy Over Casino Expansion at Racetracks Resurfaces
A common solution to combat competition is to allow casinos at Monmouth Park and Meadowlands Racetrack. This idea has been proposed multiple times but has not passed. In 2016, state voters rejected a similar proposal, but the situation has changed ten years later. Last May, State Senators Vin Gopal and Paul Sarlo introduced SCR 130 bill, pushing for racetrack expansion again. Earlier this year, they pre-submitted a constitutional amendment to establish casinos at the two racetracks. Gopal suggested following the New York model, charging an upfront fee of $500 million per license. The bill proposes using 45% of license and tax revenue for property tax relief, 10% for state pensions, and another 10% to support Atlantic City tourism. However, last week, three congressmen and 34 state legislators jointly sent a letter to Sherrill opposing the bill, stating "we are not just 'no' votes, but 'never'". Sherrill did not support or reject the expansion idea in an interview, but reiterated that the divided Atlantic City is difficult to move forward.
New Governor Inherits Tax and Smoking Issues
Murphy proposed last February to raise the unified tax rate for online sports betting and iGaming from 13% and 15% to 25%, but the legislature ultimately reached a unified tax rate of 19.75%. Although not liked by the industry, New Jersey's online tax rate remains lower than other markets (such as Pennsylvania's online slots tax rate of 54%). Whether Sherrill will follow the national trend of increasing taxes remains to be seen. On the indoor smoking ban, Murphy promised to sign any anti-smoking bill, but none ever reached him. New Jersey law allows casinos to be exempt from the indoor smoking ban. Full ban supporters have long cited health impacts, but operators believe the ban would affect revenue. Sherrill has not fully supported the ban but hopes to find a compromise that protects both employees and casinos.
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