Monday, January 15, 2007

An effort by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to take 5 percent of
slot-machine revenues to finance regulation of the new gambling industry has
been stopped in its tracks by protests from casino owners and legislators.
With the board just several weeks away from running out of the money loaned
to it by the state last summer, board officials and Gov. Ed Rendell's
administration are trying to craft a more acceptable way to fund the board.
By law, the gaming board is allowed to tap into slots revenues to fund
casino regulation. However, the size of such a surcharge raised two primary
concerns. One was that the assessment rate was far higher than what other
states charge for the same purpose, including four times as much as New
Jersey's. Another was that slots parlors that open earlier would pay more
than licensees that open their doors months or years down the road. A 5
percent charge would pile on top of Pennsylvania's already comparatively
high 52 percent base tax rate on gambling revenues. Joseph Lashinger, a
partner in Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack, called the gaming board's
original plan "heavy and onerous."