New Jersey's gambling boom is hurting the state's economy, a new study finds.
Last year, sports betting and internet gambling set new records in the Garden State, generating more than $171.5 million in revenue from online table games and slot machines. Casinos and racetracks, by comparison, earned an estimated $1.62 billion in horse racing revenue. Despite the impressive gains, new research shows that the upside is just as steep.
“New Jersey, which led the charge in legalizing mobile sports betting, receives hundreds of millions of dollars in tax dollars from the sector. But economists warned that there would be costs such as: High rates of problem gambling It is likely to be “approximately equal'' to the country's income.'' guardian.
Fans gathered at the William Hill Sportsbook at Ocean Resort Casino on February 3, 2019 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to place their first legal sports bets on Super Bowl Sunday. (Lisa Lake/Getty Images for William Hill US)
New Jersey's surge in digital gambling is also reducing jobs and wages, with the Campaign for Fairer Gambling saying the $2.4 billion spent on gambling was a $180 million decrease in New Jersey's economic activity. I discovered that it was connected to The study found that money could have been better spent on other economic activities, such as shopping and dining, leading to increased wages that could have been spent on other parts of the state's economy.
“According to NERA, the online gambling sector paid approximately $110 million in wages to New Jersey employees in 2022 and generated $22 million in new spending across the state economy. If recreational activities had received the same $2.4 billion, NERA projected that this would have generated approximately $1 billion in wages and $200 million in new spending.” guardian.
The findings are likely to lead to increased scrutiny of legalized gambling proposals in other parts of the country.
In addition to reduced economic activity, the study showed that the social costs of problem gambling in the state, including “health care, welfare, homelessness, and criminal justice,” could outweigh the increase in tax revenue. . In 2022, the state received $42 million in net tax revenue, but the social costs of gambling could reach an estimated $350 million.
Fans gathered at the William Hill Sportsbook at Ocean Resort Casino on February 3, 2019 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to place their first legal sports bets on Sunday's Super Bowl. (Lisa Lake/Getty Images for William Hill US)
Derek Webb, founder of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said the potential for a surge in online gambling had not been properly scrutinized.
“The American iGambling gold rush quickly got out of hand because the discussion has been dominated by those who support free proliferation,” he said. guardian.
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