New Jersey Residents Oppose Casinos Outside Atlantic City
Researchers at New Jersey’s Fairleigh Dickinson University have suggested residents in the Garden State are averse to casino venues being constructed in state districts outside the gaming hub of Atlantic City. In a recent survey conducted at the institution, which is situated just north-west of New York City on New Jersey’s eastern border, results revealed that 51% of participating locals were against the idea of outward expansion, whilst just over a third were keen to see casinos being built in other areas of the state.
Given the sharp acceleration of the gambling industry across the U.S, with 32 jurisdictions now accommodating legalized sports betting, and gaming revenues hitting record levels, one would be forgiven for expecting more support for gaming facility proliferation. However, it seems attitudes towards this topic haven’t changed for some time, with similar studies conducted in 2014 and 2016 returning almost identical outcomes.
Furthermore, the trends in FDU’s most recent poll are reflective of the opinion mix witnessed in New Jersey’s political chambers, with an overall majority of representatives preferring to curtail casino operations to Atlantic City. Indeed, the University argues that ‘opposition to casino expansion may be one of the few remaining bipartisan issues in the state’, with many Democrats, Republicans, and Independents united on the matter.
Participants were also asked to provide views on public smoking, with New Jersey still permitting individuals to smoke in delineated casino areas, despite the act being prohibited in most other indoor spaces. Of the 801 New Jerseyites surveyed, 57% endorsed the state’s current approach, whilst 96 respondents believed that players should be allowed to smoke freely in gaming halls.
The rather aptly named Dan Cassino, who headed up the poll, was cautious in his projections on the future of smoking in casinos, ‘’This is a balancing act. Smoking bans protect workers from second-hand smoke, but no one wants to risk hurting the casino’s bottom lines and having to bail out Atlantic City. Again’’.
On the topic of expansion, Cassino made his viewpoint perfectly clear, emphasizing that if the state were to draw up plans to grow the internal casino footprint beyond Atlantic City, lawmakers would ‘’have to change a lot of minds’’.
