Their revenues are up, but A.C. casinos want tax break to offset changes in traditional business

Fretting that in-person gambling revenue is “down and not improving,” Atlantic City’s casinos this week urged the state Legislature to pass a bill giving the industry tax breaks it says it badly needs.

The Casino Association of New Jersey, the trade association for Atlantic City’s nine casinos, issued a statement urging lawmakers to pass a bill up for final consideration on Monday.

The bill would make changes to an existing law allowing the casinos to make payments in lieu of property taxes to Atlantic City, Atlantic County and the school system. It is referred to as the PILOT bill.

Their call came a day after the state released figures showing the casinos continuing to increase revenue, driven in large part by online and sports betting money.

But the casinos insist that those revenue streams distort the true financial condition of the casinos because that money must be shared with third-party providers like technology platforms and sports books.

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