Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

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."