New Jersey Doesn't Need New Casinos
Developers and some Trenton politicians are pushing to allow casinos at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park, overturning a 2016 vote in which 77% of New Jerseyans said no. Here's what you need to know.
What’s Happening
Lobbyists and developers are pushing legislation in Trenton to hold another statewide referendum on allowing new casinos at the Meadowlands in Bergen County and Monmouth Park in Monmouth County.
New Jerseyans Already Said No
New Jersey voters have spoken - loudly, clearly, and recently. In 2016, 77% of voters rejected casino expansion.
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That rejection included overwhelming majorities in Monmouth and Bergen counties where new casinos are now being proposed.
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$35 million was spent by outside parties on the 2016 ballot measure fight, and the cost to the state alone to run another ballot question would likely $12 million dollars.
Nothing has changed to justify overriding that verdict. New polling from Fairleigh Dickenson University shows New Jerseyans continue to oppose casino expansion, meaning that Trenton politicians who want to move forward with new casinos are doing so against the will of their constituents.
Don’t Be Fooled By The Property Tax Lie
Politicians trying to sell casino expansion are promising property tax relief, but that’s the same promise made every time Trenton wants to sell something.
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When Atlantic City's casinos were legalized in the first place, New Jersey was promised property tax relief. Fifty years later, NJ still has the highest property taxes in the nation.
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And even at the most optimistic projections, the per-household benefit from new casinos would be a rounding error on your tax bill.
The much more likely outcome is that new casinos simply cannibalize revenue from Atlantic City and online gaming rather than generate new money, and history suggests that any new funds would simply get raided by Trenton politicians.
The New York Casino Scare Tactic
The developers and politicians pushing casino expansion want you to believe New York's new casinos will devastate New Jersey gaming. But look at a map: all three licensed NYC casinos are in the outer boroughs, two in Queens, one in the East Bronx. Not one in Manhattan.
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Yonkers has had a casino for years. Philadelphia has several. The Poconos are full of them. If nearby competition were going to destroy NJ’s gaming industry, it would have happened already. New Jersey posted a record $6.98 billion in gaming revenue in 2025.
The real threat to New Jersey's gaming industry isn't a casino in Flushing or Ozone Park, it’s our own state threatening to cannibalize the investments that are finally turning Atlantic City around.
Atlantic City Pays The Price
Adding casinos in North Jersey doesn't make New Jersey competitive with casinos in other states. It makes South Jersey compete with North Jersey.
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Atlantic City’s casinos employ 22,500 people and support tens of thousands more jobs across South Jersey in restaurants, hotels, retail, and services.
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While AC has faced its challenges over the years, 2025 was its strongest summer seasons in years. The city is on a recovery trajectory. North Jersey casinos would undercut that momentum at the worst possible time.
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If New Jersey wants to compete with casinos in other states, the smart strategy is to invest in Atlantic City’s unique assets: the Shore, the Boardwalk, and hospitality.
Cannibalizing our own market is not a strategy to compete, it’s a surrender.
For Bergen County: More Traffic, And No Control
The Meadowlands already gridlocks Route 3 and the Turnpike on game days. A 24/7 casino would make that every day.
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NJ Transit's Meadowlands Rail Line doesn't even run daily service; the agency says it can't do so without disrupting commuter lines. Casino traffic would go straight onto the roads, creating a traffic nightmare.
Bergen County is among the last places in America with Sunday blue laws, a tradition voters have repeatedly chosen to keep. A casino on state-owned land would operate around the clock, seven days a week, with Bergen County powerless to stop it.
A Casino Doesn’t Fit In Monmouth Park
Monmouth Park has no highway interchange for high-volume traffic. Residents of Oceanport, Long Branch, and surrounding towns would live with the daily gridlock. The massive Fort Monmouth redevelopment is already straining the area's roads. Adding a casino resort on top of it would push the community past its limits.