More casinos at risk in Atlantic City – report

Four more casinos could close in Atlantic City if New Jersey voters elect to allow gambling properties to be built elsewhere in the state, according to financial services company Fitch Ratings.

A vote on the issue is set to take place in November, with the public to decide whether to approve two more casinos in the northern part of the state.

Atlantic City, the only area of New Jersey where casinos are currently allowed, has seen a huge decrease in gambling revenues over the last decade.

A dozen casinos used to operate in Atlantic City, but as competition increased through neighbouring states legalising gambling, four of the resort’s 12 casinos closed in 2014.

Now a Fitch report says that half of the remaining properties could be wiped out by the proposed expansion in northern New Jersey.

Fitch said that Trump Taj Mahal, Resorts Casino and Golden Nugget are the three properties most susceptible to “cannibalisation” of the sector.

Related article: New Jersey agrees to support struggling Atlantic City