Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Tahesha L. Way
Could CRDA Soon Return To Financing Projects In Atlantic City?
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (May 5, 2025) – For decades, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority helped fund projects in the resort and around the state.
From hotel renovations and expansions at casinos to the Atlantic City Expressway Connector, funds from the authority were used to pave the way for the resort’s growth.
But for the past six years, that has not been the case, after state legislators decided to shift a portion of the agency’s investment alternative tax fund to help pay off the city’s crippling debt related to casino tax appeals.
With talks underway about all aspects of the state’s involvement in the resort, from the casino payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program to the Municipal Stabilization and Revitalization Act, which governs state oversight of the city, state Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic, feels now is the right time to return a portion of the funds to the agency.
Talks are happening as the city’s gambling industry is about to see increased competition as New York City casinos come online in the next couple of years.
“The IATs have grown to such an extent that nobody would have anticipated, and so I think last year there were like, $91 million, and the money gets routed to pay for Atlantic City’s debt service, gets routed to the Board of Education, and gets routed to the county,” Polistina said.
Mo Butler, chairman of the CRDA, called discussion over the future of the IAT fund “a legislative issue” and directed comments to Polistina.
The Governor’s Office did not return a request for comment on the issue.
“CRDA is the main redevelopment entity in the city, and so we have got to get that money back there,” Polistina said. “They really need resources to be able to do things that need to be done, so we must get them funding.”
Mayor Marty Small Sr. said removing the funding would put a larger financial burden on the city’s taxpayers.
“The Great City of Atlantic City deserves that funding and more. Not to mention that we already receive no money from parking, luxury tax and sports gaming,” Small said in a statement. “When that Senator (Polistina) had an opportunity to support tax relief for Atlantic City by making sure Atlantic City got a small percentage of sports gaming revenue, he blocked it.”
Polistina said he has to support initiatives that benefit the entire region.
“Mayor Small needs to understand that there are more constituents that depend on Atlantic City outside of his limited number of supporters,” Polistina said. “When given the opportunity to support initiatives that benefit the entire region, Mayor Small has been missing in action. I don’t have the ability to prioritize or ignore one for the other.”
Jim Kennedy, a local economist and former executive director of the CRDA, said the state needs to move quickly if it is going to return a portion of the IATs to the authority. Kennedy also suggested a group of stakeholders should be put together to come up with a list of projects that casinos and the city need.
IATs are funds raised by a 1.25% tax levied on brick-and-mortar gaming revenues and a 2.5% tax levied on internet gaming revenues. Before the state takeover, that money went to CRDA, for reinvestment into Atlantic City to strengthen the state’s tourism economy.
The city has received $269 million through IAT funds since 2019 to help pay off the debt the city incurred while paying off casino property tax appeals, according to the state Department of Community Affairs.
Last year, the city received nearly $68.17 million in IAT funding, according to state records.
At its height, the city had more than $524 million in debt, Small said during his State of the City address in January.
The taxes have helped pay off the casino tax appeals the city had to bond for by $194 million over the past five years.
Polistina sees CRDA working with the state Economic Development Authority to fund projects in the city.
“It’ll be a combination of CRDA doing projects themselves but also working with the state EDA and trying to provide some of this bridge financing that some projects need,” Polistina said.
Among the projects the increase in funding could help finance would be the expansion of the Save-A-Lot discount grocer at Renaissance Plaza and social service work at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission. The plan would be to expand the Save-A-Lot to approximately 32,000 square feet to better address the food needs of the city’s residents.
Since its inception in 1984, the CRDA has funded more than $2.1 billion in projects throughout the state, authority records show.
The Casino Control Act, which legalized Atlantic City gambling in 1977, required each casino to reinvest 2.5% of its gross gaming revenue. The CRDA was established in 1984 after casinos failed to make investments that had been promised.
Talks between state and local officials over various aspects of the state’s involvement in the resort have been underway for four to five months, Polistina said, adding Gov. Phil Murphy is committed to resolving these issues before the end of his term in January 2026.
“Over the next couple months, hopefully we’ll get everybody on the same page with that, build consensus, and then we would go back in November and hopefully get all the stuff done,” Polistina said.
By: Nicholas Huba