New Jersey Voters Reject Expanded Gambling

New Jersey voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure to expand casino gambling into the northern part of the state that could have eroded revenues at nearby New York racetrack-based casinos, including Aqueduct Racetrack.

The ballot question, which sought to add up to two casinos to be located at least 72 miles north of Atlantic City, was rejected by 78 percent of New Jersey voters, according to unofficial election results from Tuesday.

The results were not unexpected, as even a couple of key supporters, including Meadowlands operator Jeff Gural, recently abandoned pro-casino spending in the face of sour pre-election polling. Gural had wanted to develop a casino at Meadowlands, which, along with another nearby planned casino, would have eaten into business at both Aqueduct in Queens and Yonkers racetrack's casino operation in Westchester County just north of New York City. The successful Aqueduct casino pumps revenues both into purse accounts and the capital needs of the New York Racing Association.

The New Jersey ballot measure left vague a number of key matters about the gambling expansion, such as precisely where the casinos might go and what level of taxation operators would pay. Southern New Jersey voters also believed the expansion in the north across the Hudson River from Manhattan would spell the final blow to Atlantic City's casino industry, which has been battered in recent years by rising competition in other states.

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission recently reported that $24 million had been spent by independent political committees formed around the issue. The main anti-expansion group, called Trenton's Bad Bet, spent at least $14.4 million, with a large portion of the group's donations coming from Genting New York LLC, the Malaysian-based operators of the Aqueduct casino.