Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Michael Blee will make a determination on whether to pause the decision on the PILOT program until the appeal by the state has been heard.
Meanwhile, last month, Atlantic County asked that the appeal go straight to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
The jockeying back and forth stems from legislation passed in December 2021 to cut out online sports betting and iGaming revenue from the calculations over what the gaming industry owes the city and county as part of the PILOT, which stands for ‘Payment In Lieu Of Taxes.’
The amendments to the original 2016 law were challenged in court by the county, which would lose significant funding, hence the lawsuit.
Blee ruled in the county’s favor over the summer. He also declared the amendments benefited a private entity, namely the casino industry. He said while the pandemic caused hardships, they were not enough to change the payment parameters.
The judge issued a 90-day stay of the decision to reject the amendments, which maintained the status quo.
