North Jersey Casinos Off Ballot for Another Year After Deadline Passes

^{Any plans for casinos in New Jersey near MetLife Stadium are tabled for another year after legislators did not approve adding the question to the November ballot. (Photo: JHVEPhoto / Alamy)}

A proposal that would allow for casinos at the Meadowlands Racetrack and Monmouth Park won’t be put before voters this November, as New Jersey legislators in the state failed to approve such a question before a deadline established in the state constitution.

Because the constitution requires that a proposed constitutional amendment be presented to voters publicly three months before they consider it on a statewide ballot, lawmakers would have had to approve the question by Aug. 3. 

Wait ‘til Next Year

Both the New Jersey Assembly and Senate would have had to pass the ballot question by a supermajority – or pass it on two separate occasions by a simple majority – in order to get the constitutional amendment before voters.

That was always going to be a tough task. While proponents have said that adding casinos in East Rutherford and Oceanport could combat Resorts World New York City and the two other casinos coming to New York City in the next five years, lawmakers in Atlantic City and nearby South Jersey communities have pushed back, saying that the new facilities would do more to harm the nine casinos around the Atlantic City area than to capture any new revenue for the state.

“They’ve been dragging their feet on this for good reason,” Dan Cassino, head of Fairleigh Dickenson University’s polling institute, told NorthJersey.com. “It’s just not very popular, especially among powerful leaders from South Jersey.”

Cassino pointed out that New Jersey voters have consistently opposed casino expansion, with 77% voting against a similar plan in a 2016 referendum. Waiting for 2027 may not help, as the smaller turnout in a year without federal elections will skew towards older voters, who have shown even more opposition to the idea than their younger counterparts in recent polling. 

Three NYC Casinos Expected in Operation by 2030

Still, proponents of the North Jersey casino proposals were hoping to at least make their case to state residents this fall, with stakeholders bemoaning the lost opportunity.

“I was disappointed and truthfully shocked that I wasn’t able to get it on the ballot,” Meadowlands Racetrack owner Jeff Gural told NorthJersey.com.

New Jersey has been grappling with the potential impact of casinos in New York City for years, and saw their worst fears realized when all three downstate casino licenses in New York went to casinos in the city’s outer boroughs. Along with Resorts World New York City, which is already in operation, Bally’s Bronx and Metropolitan Park – which will be located in Queens, adjacent to Citi Field – are expected to open around 2030.

The prospect of North Jersey casinos isn’t the only issue concerning Atlantic City’s resorts right now. The industry is also fighting a legal battle over whether casinos can continue to offer smoking sections on gaming floors. Casino owners say removing smoking would hurt their bottom line, but some workers’ unions dispute that, while also arguing that exposure to smoking has been detrimental to their health.