Bill To Increase Gambling Tax Rates In New Jersey Introduced

April 12, 2024 | Tax

A bill to increase gambling tax Rates in New Jersey has opened in Senate, as the state looks to implement a 30% tax rate for online betting.

MALTA (April 11, 2024) — Specified as bill s3064, the proposal has been backed by Senator Jon Mckeon and is built on the premise of increasing tax rates for online sports betting/casino wagers to 30%.

Online sports gambling operators are currently taxed by 14.25%, with iGaming companies paying 15% and an additional 2.5% to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.

Back in March, this bill was first brought to light and after a month of discussions it has now been opened for debate in the Senate by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee.

The neighboring states to New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, boast some of the largest online gaming tax rates in America and continue to make more revenue than NJ.

NYC has a 51% tax rate and operators in PA pay 36%, which are far higher than the rate in New Jersey – hence the bill in Senate.

After beginning in January 2022, NYC has made $1.73 billion in online sports betting tax revenue from an overall handle of $39.2bn and New Jersey has seen $286.7m in tax revenue from a $26.1bn.

A tax rate of 30% would have seen New Jersey’s revenue increase to $609.7m and increased its competitiveness with the neighboring states.

New Jersey is not the only state looking to increase its sports betting tax, as legislators in Illinois are looking to make a next step.

A proposal for a new tax rate by Gov. JB Pritzker has been suggested and increase from 15% to 35% for the fiscal year in 2025.