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New Jersey has a proud history of innovation.

It’s where Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, where Atlantic City built the world’s first boardwalk, and where the first college football game was played. More recently — in 2013 — New Jersey became the national trailblazer in legal, regulated online gambling. It set the standard for licensing, consumer protections and tax policy, helping to shape a thriving industry that has created tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and generating billions in economic investment over the past decade.

According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, 2024 was the most successful yet for the gaming industry in the Garden State’s history, with total gaming revenue soaring to nearly $6.3 billion and over 55% of that revenue coming from iGaming and sports betting. Moreover, given New Jersey’s rules requiring online casino platforms to partner with land-based Atlantic City casinos to operate legally in the state, the growth and success of iGaming and sports betting have quite literally saved Atlantic City by more than offsetting any revenue struggles at the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos.

iGaming, sports betting continue to drive NJ’s economy

Most importantly, according to a collaborative report from the Casino Association of New Jersey and the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality & Tourism at Stockton University, in the last year alone, the success of iGaming and sports betting continues to make a positive economic and fiscal impact on New Jersey:

• The gaming industry generated over $570 billion in state tax revenue, with the lion’s share of it benefiting New Jersey seniors and the disabled
• The gaming industry spent over $600 million on goods and services in support of other businesses in every corner of the state
• The gaming industry is a huge job creator and tourism driver, with over 23,000 employees statewide and 18 million visitors to Atlantic City annually

Trenton could crush that success. Here’s how

Unfortunately, something else New Jersey has become known for is about to threaten all of that success: Another crushing tax hike from Trenton.

Earlier this year, Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed FY2026 state budget called for nearly doubling the tax rate on for iGaming and sports betting, putting thousands of jobs at risk, raising taxes on millions of hardworking residents, and threatening to kill the golden goose that helps to subsidize the state’s social safety net for the most vulnerable.

The governor’s proposal would raise the tax rate on sports betting and iGaming from 13% and 15%, respectively, to 25% for each as part of a larger $1 billion tax hike plan that would also increase taxes on recreational pursuits like baseball batting cages; basketball courts; billiard parlors; bowling alleys; bungee jumping; fishing piers; go-cart rides/speedways; golf courses and driving ranges. Both prominent Democrats and Republicans in Trenton have referred to the proposal as a “fun” tax, and with a busy election year that promises a very competitive, open seat race for governor and the entire state Assembly on the ballot, many believe voters won’t be laughing if they have to pay it.

As for our members — who run the gamut from small startup companies to well-known major platforms — they’ve set up shop in the state, created jobs here and generated billions of dollars in revenue precisely because of New Jersey’s competitive tax structure and favorable environment for iGaming and sports betting.  Any negative changes to that will almost assuredly discourage future growth and could result in some of our members deciding to look at other states who choose to reward, not punish, growing businesses.

New Jersey’s reputation as a state that makes it exceedingly difficult to start and grow a business is well-documented. Why make it worse?

Speaking of worse, history has shown that raising costs for consumers — which these proposed tax increases will clearly do — risks driving people back to unregulated offshore betting sites where there are no state tax revenues, no consumer protections, and no economic benefit. In New Jersey, that could have devastating effects on the brick-and-mortar casinos in Atlantic City who clearly rely on iGaming and sports betting to survive and thrive.

On behalf of our members who employ nearly 3,000 New Jersey taxpayers, we implore the governor to reconsider his proposal, and state legislators in both parties to push back on it until he does. New Jersey is a national model for iGaming and sports betting — the envy of states across the country that are eager to capture its market share. Why would we make it easier for them by imposing a massive tax hike that threatens our competitive edge?