Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf submitted his budget proposal for 2017-18. His budget includes over 250 million from new gaming revenue. This is a great sign for online gaming in the Commonwealth. There are two bills that are being talked about during this legislative session.
One is the bill sponsored by State Rep Youngblood and Dunbar. This bill includes online gaming and fantasy sports. It expands gaming to the Philadelphia International Airport via tablets. This bill also allows multi state linkage on slots to increase jackpots. It also allows for the PGCB to set up new regulations to authorize skill based and hybrid slot games.
The second bill is sponsored by State Senator Acosta. Acosta's bill would impose a 25-percent tax on gross revenue from either form of gambling. The most recent House-approved bill from 2016 had an online gambling tax rate of 16 percent and a DFS rate of 12 percent. In traditional casinos, the state gets 54 percent of gross slot revenue and 16 percent of table game revenue. Costa's proposal would ban Internet gaming on casino property because of the difference in tax rates. He anticipates some action on his bill by April 2017.
Both bills have similarities but the Youngblood and Dunbar bill has language stressing consumer protection that reins in black market and off shore operators that target compulsive and underage gamblers. The proposed tax is casino favorable with a rate of 14% along with a 2% local share. Youngblood and Dunbar's bill does not get blinded by the numbers and wants government and the economy to work for all people. There is a provision for Pre K Funding for Philadelphia I Gaming that occurs at the airport from ticketed passengers.
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| MGM Grand National Harbor |
MGM Grand National Harbor has been open a little over two months and doing phenomenal numbers. They have surpassed Maryland Live as the top grossing revenue casino in their region.
The new Prince George's County casino, which opened in early December, generated $48.8 million from slot machines and table games, making it the state's top money maker by nearly $5 million, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency reported Monday.
The Baltimore Sun reported that Maryland Live Casino, historically the top money-maker, brought in about $44 million in January, down 15.6 percent from the same month last year.
Horseshoe Casino Baltimore generated $20.2 million in January, down 14.5 percent from the same period a year ago. The State of Maryland showed prudent leadership by anticipating some measure of cannibalization from MGM's arrival. They allowed both casinos to keep more of their profits to account for the loss of revenue. Click here and read the entire article.
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