Tonko’s Supporting Affordability & Fairness With Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act) would require state gaming regulators to amend their sports betting rules to include a series of conditions. If passed and signed into law, the federal statute would require sportsbooks to limit bettors to no more than five deposits per 24 hours and conduct “affordability checks” on customers seeking to make large wagers.

Such checks would require bettors to prove that they have the financial resources to risk that amount of money. Sportsbooks would also be prohibited from allowing bettors to make deposits on credit cards.

The legislation additionally includes language prohibiting sportsbooks from utilizing artificial intelligence to craft promotions and bonuses for players based on their betting history. AI would also be banned from being used to produce microbetting odds and in-game lines.

Sin Industry Needs Sin Safeguards

Tonko, along with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) who will champion the SAFE Act in Congress’ upper chamber, both represent states where retail and online sports betting is legal. The two believe sports betting presents dangerous societal consequences and therefore should be more regulated than it currently is.

Tonko likened the affordability checks to a drunk person trying to purchase or consume more alcohol.

“For over six years, the U.S. sports betting industry has been working itself deeper and more directly into the lives of the American people. Now, every single solitary moment of every sporting event has become a betting opportunity,” Tonko said outside the Capitol.

Whether you’re scrolling on social media, driving down the highway past billboards, or listening to your favorite podcast or radio station, sports betting ads are there to prompt you with an endless cascade of flashy promotions,” Tonko continued. “This relationship between the gambling industry and sports has reached intolerably dangerous levels. It’s well past time for Congress to step up and make a difference.”

Blumenthal said he signed on to support the SAFE Bet Act on mental health and addiction concerns.

We’re not banning gambling. We’re banning practices that exploit and abuse people,” Blumenthal said. “We’re stopping the promotions, enticements, bonuses, and credits that target losers.”

“Let’s be very clear: the gambling industry methodically and relentlessly targets losers,” Blumenthal declared. “That’s where the money is.”

SAFE Bet Called Out

Tonko and Blumenthal said state governments have largely failed to implement adequate safeguards into their sports betting regulations. The American Gaming Association (AGA) was quick to disagree.

Today’s regulated sports wagering operators are contributing billions in state taxes across the U.S., protecting consumers from dangerous neighborhood bookies and illegal offshore websites, and working diligently with over 5,000 state and tribal regulators and other stakeholders to ensure a commitment to responsibility and positive play,” Chris Cylke, the AGA’s senior vice president of government relations, said in prepared remarks.

“Six years into legal sports betting, introducing heavy-handed federal prohibitions is a slap in the face to state legislatures and gaming regulators who have dedicated countless time and resources to developing thoughtful frameworks unique to their jurisdictions, and have continued to iterate as their marketplaces evolve,” Cylke added.

The post Federal Bill Seeks to Implement Sports Betting Guardrails appeared first on Casino.org.

Ohio is currently home to brick-and-mortar casinos and video lottery racinos, plus retail and online sports betting. State Sen. Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) says the successful rollout of internet sports gambling demonstrates the state’s ability to properly regulate and safeguard consumers for remote wagering.

As gaming has evolved in our state and we’ve seen massive success with sports betting, it’s now time to legalize iGaming in Ohio,” said Antani. “Many Ohioans don’t have close access to a casino or racino, but should be able to participate in this entertainment option.”

Antani’s Senate Bill 312 hasn’t yet been assigned to a committee for initial review.

The state lawmaker said along with generating new tax revenue, iGaming would crack down on the illegal offshore market that continues to target online casino players in states where such gambling isn’t allowed. Bovada, a leading offshore website that runs unregulated internet casino gambling in the United States, recently withdrew its platform from Ohio after Matt Schuler, the executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company based in Curacao.?

iGaming Would Help State’s Coffers

Currently, just seven states have authorized iGaming — Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. A study from London-based gaming regulatory intelligence firm Vixio that Casino.org reported on last month concluded that states without online casinos are leaving a tax windfall of up to $15 billion a year on the table.

Antani wants Ohio to become the nation’s eighth iGaming state and begin reaping the financial tax reward.

Pennsylvania levies a 54% tax on online slots and 16% on online table revenue. Michigan levies a graduated iGaming tax based on total revenue that ranges from 20% to 28%.

While iGaming would certainly grow state revenue, the study commissioners said it isn’t without risk.

“While these dollars would be a game-changer for addressing the state’s childcare crisis or many other worthy endeavors, caution and thoughtful implementation are warranted as iGaming may have adverse effects on Ohio businesses and workers if done poorly or through a rushed process,” the report concluded.

Online Casino Foes, Fellows

There are many opponents to online casino gambling in Ohio. Among them are leaders at Jack Entertainment, the only casino company based in the Buckeye State.

During the Study Commission’s April meeting, Daniel Reinhard, Jack Entertainment’s senior vice president of government affairs, testified that iGaming would hurt brick-and-mortar gaming and lead to job layoffs.

Just like online retail has decimated local retail, iGaming will do the same under any logical scenario,” Reinhard opined. “iGaming will damage Ohio businesses and cost Ohio jobs leading to diminished capital investment and degradation of Ohio’s existing tax base.”

Jack Entertainment operates Jack Cleveland Casino and Jack Thistledown Racino. In contrast, Jack’s competitors, MGM Resorts and Penn Entertainment, expressed support for iGaming.

MGM runs the MGM Northfield Park racino. Penn operates four gaming properties in the state — Hollywood Casino Toledo, Hollywood Casino Columbus, Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway, and Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course.

Jeff Morris, who heads Penn’s government relations unit, said internet gaming has been a “catalyst for growth” in the states where the company operates internet casinos in partnerships with land-based properties.

The post Ohio iGaming Bill Introduced but Online Casinos Have Powerful Opponents appeared first on Casino.org.

The owners and managers of the businesses haven’t been charged, DeSoto police said in a statement, but they are under investigation for a misdemeanor charge of keeping a gambling place, police added.

The four businesses are located within about one mile of one another, according to Texas TV station WFAA.

They are identified as:

• Happy Mart – 1100 E. Pleasant Run Road
• Family Mart – 1231 E. Pleasant Run Road
• Daily Food Mart – 900 N. Polk Street
• DeSoto Food Mart – 901 N. Polk Street

The searches came about after police collected evidence on operations at each of the businesses. The evidence was reviewed by a local judge who approved search warrants.

The investigation into suspected gambling will continue in other DeSoto locations.

This is just the first wave of warrant searches conducted against area establishments suspected of illegal gaming, and violators should know that we are monitoring other reports of alleged illegal activity and will be coming for them next,” DeSoto Police Chief Joe Costa said in the statement. “This type of activity hurts our community and our residents, and will not be tolerated,” he added.

DeSoto’s Fire and Development Services departments will also inspect each of the businesses to ensure they meet fire regulations, certificate of occupancy rules, and building permit codes, the police department revealed.

Eight-Liners Explained

Eight-liners resemble slot machines. Depending on the type, a player “wins” if a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row of objects line up.

Texas courts, state legislators, and local officials recently have attempted to clarify if eight-liners are legal in the state.

Over the years, Texas courts have had to determine if certain prizes being given out on these machines are legal,” according to a Texas government website.

State officials have noted there is a “fuzzy animal” exception, which permits limited use of eight-liner machines.

The loophole is traced to a 1993 Texas Supreme Court ruling. Amusement games that award low-value prizes or tickets may be considered legal under that court decision.

Players can use the machines for entertainment purposes but no prize can be given out that has a value of more than $5. To get around the law, some businesses will give winners groceries or a form of debit card for a retail store.

Recently, eight-liners are increasingly found in many Texas communities, especially in South Texas.

Casino Proposals

On a related front, Texas may soon once again consider if a limited number of destination casino resorts will be allowed in the state.

Prior attempts to approve casino legislation have died in the state legislature.

The post Numerous Eight-Liner Machines Shut Down After Texas Raids, $17K Seized appeared first on Casino.org.

The Unicameral General Affairs Committee passed LR3CA by a 5-2 vote on the 10th day of the special legislative session. Lawmakers were called back to the Lincoln capital by Gov. Jim Pillen (R) to come up with ways to reduce property taxes.

LR3CA seeks to ask Nebraskans during the November 5 presidential election if they wish to further expand gambling in the Cornhusker State. The gaming question would come four years after Nebraska voters approved three ballot referendums that legalized commercial casino gambling at horse racetracks and provided a regulatory framework for slot machines, table games, and in-person sports betting.

Referendum Bid Finds Support

LR3CA was filed by Sen. Eliot Bostar (D-Lincoln). Bostar says it’s time Nebraska reap the tax benefits of the many Nebraskans who are already betting on sports online, whether it be in neighboring states that offer legal, regulated internet sportsbooks or by gambling on illegal, offshore websites that cater to states that have limited gaming.

Bostar says allowing online sports betting and taking sportsbooks’ gross revenue at 20% would deliver Nebraska more than $30 million a year in new revenue. That money, his LR3CA proposes, could be directed to the Property Tax Credit Cash Fund.

During the committee’s deliberation of the referendum statute, General Affairs members voted to retain control over whether Nebraska becomes an online sports betting state upon a successful referendum. While Bostar’s initial draft sought to require the legislature to pass regulatory conditions to allow online sportsbooks should the public back the ballot question, the bill was reworked to allow — not require — the lawmaking body to authorize internet sportsbooks.

It keeps power in the hands of the legislature, allows voters to speak on it, and then lets the legislature decide,” said amendment sponsor Sen. John Cavanaugh (D-Omaha).

Under Nebraska’s current gaming laws, sports bets can only be made in person at one of the state’s brick-and-mortar commercial casinos.

Long Odds

Online sports betting’s forecasted $32 million a year tax windfall wouldn’t do much to offset the $5.3 billion in property taxes the state collected from property owners last year.

Online sports betting is expected to take a back seat, the Lincoln Journal Star reports. Unless lawmakers decide to act on the Bostar bill and it finds majority support in the chamber, Nebraskans won’t be asked about online sports betting until at least November 2026, as the state only permits statewide ballot referendums during even-numbered years.

The post Nebraska Online Sports Betting Bill Advances, Odds Remain Long appeared first on Casino.org.

Although Hochul hasn’t publicly said she won’t sign the bill, industry experts and New York political observers believe the writing is on the wall. Even if the Addabbo/Pretlow legislation was approved imminently, there’s not enough time for gaming operators to ready proposals for what are likely to be some of the most expensive casino hotels in US history.

Ominous Outlook for Speeding Up NYC Casino Bids

Even Pretlow acknowledged to Newsday that it currently appears unlikely that Hochul is going to move on the bill before the end of this month.

Michael Hershman, CEO of the Soloviev Group, echoed a familiar refrain, telling Newsday the expedited licensing bill is now a “moot point.” The Soloviev Group is partnering with Tribal casino giant Mohegan on a proposed gaming venue near the United Nations building on Manhattan’s East Side.

For contenders, an early opening of the bidding window would likely be met with applause because as things stand today, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board is eying June 27, 2025 as the date for applications to be submitted. After that, “Community Advisory Committees (CACs) will form immediately thereafter and commence their statutory work.”

The Board expects to make decisions by December 1, 2025, followed by Commission licensure by December 31, 2025. This ensures that New York State will collect the already-booked casino license fee(s) ahead of schedule,” according to the board.

Assuming that’s the timeline that’s adhered, 2026 would be the earliest at which ground could be broken new gaming venues, meaning it could be several years before they’re fully operational.

Why Speeding Up NYC Casino Licenses Makes Senses

By not swiftly moving to speed up the licensing process, New York is delaying receipt of millions of dollars in application fees not to mention $500 million per winning bidder — a figure some experts believe could drift as high as $1 billion per license.

It’s possible that if final approval of the three downstate casino licenses arrives at the end of 2025, MGM Resorts International’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Genting’s Resorts World New York in Queens could establish a lead over a third rival assuming those venues are selected for two of the permits.

Those properties are already operational as slots-only venues with both ranking among the highest-grossing regional casinos in the country. The operators have promised major enhancements if they’re awarded traditional casino licenses and that is the outcome, Genting and MGM can likely add some table games and other amenities without significant disruptions to day-to-day business.

The post Bill to Expedite NYC Casino Licenses on Life Support appeared first on Casino.org.

PlayIN for Charity is backed by The American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the National Guard Association of Indiana. The veterans service organizations are calling on the Indiana General Assembly to “modernize” charitable gaming in the Hoosier state.

Under Indiana’s present charitable gaming statute, games of chance are limited to paper raffles, pull tabs, punchboards, and tipboards. Special casino and bingo nights are also allowed, but are limited to three days per week.

Most veterans groups are primarily funded by a combination of federal grants, state funding, private donations, and their facility’s operations.

Present Gaming Regulations

Veterans groups pay the state $50 a year for a charitable gaming license. The permit allows groups like the VFW to conduct raffles and sell paper pull tabs, punchboards, and tip boards 24 hours a day from its licensed facility.

For paper pull tabs, each board game must not exceed $15K in prizes. Single prizes per ticket are limited to $599 or less.

Winners of $250 or more must verify their identity with their printed name, signature, and date of birth. That information must be included in the charitable gaming facility’s annual report of monies received from each charitable game and its associated payouts. Those reports are submitted annually to the Indiana Gaming Commission’s Charity Gaming Division.

Electronic pull tabs are digitalized versions of traditional paper pull tabs that are a cornerstone of charitable gaming.

PlayIN is focused on expanding charitable gaming to permit e-tabs, but such authorization could also lend electronic gaming to for-profit taverns and other small businesses that house pull tabs.

Revenue Boost

PlayIN argues that as the world continues to evolve toward a digital environment, its veterans organizations should be allowed to “explore innovative avenues to grow.” Electronic charitable gaming in other states where it’s allowed — Ohio and Kentucky, for example — has been credited for significant revenue boosts for veterans groups and nonprofits.

Electronic pull tabs have been incredibly beneficial for the American Legion in Kentucky. The additional money raised from e-tabs has allowed us to invest in our posts and engage in our communities,” said Rhonda Fields-Hayes, American Legion Past State Commander. “Our posts are now more sustainable and ready to meet the needs of our veterans long into the future.”

Jerry Wilson of American Legion Post 199 in Ohio said his post struggled to generate $15K a year in charitable receipts before e-tabs. Since the Buckeye State permitted electronic charitable gaming, Wilson says the post now donates $100K a year to local charities.

The post Indiana Veterans Groups Urge Legislature to Allow Electronic Charitable Gaming appeared first on Casino.org.

Utah is one of just two states, along with Hawaii, where all forms of gambling are illegal, including church raffles. The constitutional ban on gambling has existed since Utah was granted statehood in 1896. That’s largely down to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members account for just over half of Utah’s population and which opposes gambling as “spiritually destructive.”

Utahans Spend $200M

But Birkeland is undeterred. She says Utahans spend $200 million a year on lottery tickets in neighboring states. If this money were redirected to Utah, it could mean lower taxes, she argues.

And by legalizing the lottery in certain border counties only, she would be stopping Utahans from crossing the border to buy tickets.

[It means] you don’t have people in the heart of Salt Lake City or wherever else, just walking down the street to a convenience store, buying a lottery ticket. It still creates a little bit of a work to get there,” Birkeland told Fox 13 Salt Lake City.

The plan would exclude many of the state’s most populous cities like Salt Lake, Davis, and Weber, as well as counties on the entire western state line, which borders Nevada. Casino interests in America’s gambling capital have long kept a Nevada lottery at bay. All counties that border Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona would be eligible to opt in.

Big “If”

“There’s still those saying that this is, you know, really going to decay morally our state, and to them, I just hope that this compromise is showing again we’re not changing behaviors, we’re just capturing those same behaviors within our state limits,” Birkeland said.

Birkeland will file the proposed amendment at the 2025 session of the Utah State Legislature. If it passes – and that’s a big “if” — voters would get to decide the issue in November 2026.

The post Utah Lottery Would be Legal in Certain Counties Under New Proposal appeared first on Casino.org.

The Nebraska Legislature is amid a special session called by Gov. Jim Pillen (R) to find ways to ease property tax burdens on homeowners. State Sens. Eliot Bostar (D-Lincoln) and Terrell McKinney (D-North Omaha) think allowing online sports betting is one viable solution.

Nebraska is currently missing out on a $1.6 billion state industry and $32 million in annual tax revenue, which instead goes to neighboring states like Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming,” Bostar said before the General Affairs Committee on Wednesday. “Legalizing online mobile sports betting … could significantly boost state revenues dedicated to the property tax credit fund.”

Currently, sports betting is only allowed in person at one of the state’s commercial casinos.

Pros and Cons?

Pillen has recently become supportive of mobile sports gambling. For online sportsbooks to come to the Cornhusker State, Nebraskans would need to amend their state constitution to allow such gambling through a statewide ballot referendum.

The committee mulling online sports betting heard from Danny DiRienzo of GeoComply, the leading geolocation provider that works with most legal online sportsbooks in the US. DiRienzo, the company’s senior director of risk services, says GeoComply last year processed over a half-million location checks from an Iowa cornfield just across the Nebraska border.

“I don’t know if this is the busiest cornfield in the state, in the US. I suspect it is. I would submit that is not organic Iowa sports betting traffic. That is very likely all related to Nebraskans crossing the border to place a legal wager,” he said.

Tom Osborne, the legendary coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team who led the program to three national titles in the 1990s, remains an outspoken critic of online sports gambling. Osborne, who’s become a political operative since exiting collegiate sports, questioned Bostar’s lofty tax revenue projections.

If all of the revenue that I hear are going to Iowa was that beneficial, you would think that Council Bluffs would look like Abu Dhabi. It doesn’t,” Osborne said.

Even if $32 million a year was a realistic online sports betting tax benefit, gambling foe Pat Loontjer, a political activist nicknamed the “Grassroots Grandma,” says that would do little to help homeowners. Nebraska collected $5.3 billion in property taxes last year.

Consumer Protections

Pillen thinks online sports betting would do more than just help marginally with property taxes. The governor says people who wish to bet on sports online are already doing so on offshore, unregulated websites that provide no consumer safeguards.

We’re already absorbing the societal and social costs of having a gambling population that has access to gambling at their fingertips. We already are. We’re just not getting any of the benefits,” Pillen said.

The country’s largest sportsbooks — DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars Sportsbook — earlier this year mulled funding an initiative to place an online sports betting question before voters in November. But the books said polling suggested the outcome would be close, and with a campaign likely to cost around $7 million, they folded on the initiative. ?

The post Nebraska Online Sports Betting Remains Divisive, Stakeholders Mull Legalization appeared first on Casino.org.

Two of these casinos should be in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, LVS Senior Vice President of Government Relations Andy Abboud said last week during a roundtable held in the state.

That’s where LVS wants to open a gaming property. Golden Nugget reportedly wants to open a casino in Houston.

But, before any casinos can open in the state, the legislature must approve controversial legislation that must also receive backing from the state’s voters.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, urges to proceed with caution.

Saying you want a specific number and specific location when the state currently has none is like counting your winnings at the table,” Rottinghaus told Casino.org.

“The state is still very mixed on expanded gaming in Texas, both in the public and among politicians,” he added. “There have been several attempts to amend the constitution to add destination gaming resorts, but they have not gotten much traction because of the political hurdles in front of them.”

Rottinghaus predicts what’s most likely to be approved is “a very small step towards expanded gaming, likely a large feasibility study and possibly including a modest number of licenses or online sports betting. Whatever happens, it will be baby steps towards expanded gambling in Texas.”

Similarly, Mark P. Jones, a professor at Rice University, said most proposals allocate at least two destination casino licenses to the DFW metroplex, two to metro Houston, and one to San Antonio. More expansive proposals add one each in Austin, Corpus Christi, and the RGV.

Tribal Casinos

Tribal gaming is an issue related to commercial casinos.

Embedded within these proposals are also provisions that allow the Alabama-Coushatta (Livingston), Kickapoo (Eagle Pass), and Tigua (El Paso) to operate something not of the scale of a destination resort casino, but with enough gaming opportunities that the communities would not be worse off from the passage of destination resort casino legislation than they are today,” Jones told Casino.org.

Jones predicts that five casinos is the absolute bare minimum for any “potentially successful” casino legislation in the state. Two each in the DFW metroplex and Houston, and one in San Antonio.

“More likely though would be a more expansive bill that would provide at least Austin and the RGV with a casino as well, while also allowing for sufficient gambling options for the Alabama-Coushatta, Kickapoo, and Tigua such that their venues would be at least a little bit better off after the passage of the legislation than at present,” Jones added.

Governor’s Support is Key

Among the political leaders who could play a key role in whether legislation is approved is Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). He wants casinos to be true destination resorts that generate high levels of tourism revenue and nongambling revenue from conferences, sporting events, concerts, and trade shows, Jones explained.

Abbott appears less likely to back casinos that principally would be patronized by local residents purely for gambling, Jones added.

“Thus, while there is an advantage to adding additional casinos as a way to gain the support of local representatives and senators, there is also a tipping point where this would result in pushback from Governor Abbott and other Republicans who are now more open to casino gambling than they were five years ago, but who still have some qualms about it,” Jones said.

The post LVS Wants Texas to Allow for Five or More Casinos Statewide, Experts React appeared first on Casino.org.

The NTC committee will look at the impact that one or two casinos could have on the DFW region and how they would impact economic development, the workforce, infrastructure, transportation, and public safety.

“It will provide a venue in which skeptics and critics of destination resort casino legislation can have their questions answered and concerns allayed, potentially reducing any extant opposition,” Mark P. Jones, a professor at Rice University, told Casino.org.

“And it will underscore to Republican state senators and representatives who are still on the fence regarding destination resort casinos the preference of many of their key stakeholders for destination resort casino legislation.”

Bills to pave the way for destination casinos in Texas have failed to get needed legislative approvals. Legislation is likely to be reintroduced in 2025 as a large number of Texas voters appear to back the proposals.

DFW Senate Republicans are Key

Jones said seven Republican state senators whose districts include portions of the DFW metroplex are “the most crucial to the destiny of casino resort legislation in 2025.”

“Key stakeholders in a wide range of industries spanning construction, convention, and social welfare can brainstorm and come up with a concrete set of plans which can be put into action the moment legislation is passed in the Texas Legislature,” he added.

Clyde Barrow, a political scientist at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, told Casino.org that if the committee works well, it “will provide detailed information on the economic and fiscal benefits of casino gaming (at least in DFW), as well as detailed and quantifiable information on the social and economic costs of legalized gambling, such as problem gambling prevention and treatment, local infrastructure costs (e.g., roads, off-ramps, signaling, water and sewer), regulatory costs, and public service impacts (e.g., police, EMS, fire protection).”

These types of studies allow state and local government officials, as well as the business community, to critically assess the claims of lobbyists and move toward legislation that could truly benefit the state and potential host municipalities,” Barrow said.

The committee will be made up of representatives from the region’s businesses and wider community, according to the Dallas Business Journal. Members still need to be appointed.

The new committee was discussed at Wednesday’s roundtable discussion sponsored by the NTC and the Texas Association of Business. Among those backing casino legislation at the roundtable was Andy Abboud, senior vice president of government relations at Las Vegas Sands (LVS). Chris Wallace, CEO of the NTC, is also supportive, the Journal reported.

Limited Number of Casinos

Aboud told the roundtable that Texas wouldn’t have casinos in every community.

It doesn’t need to be everywhere,” Abboud said. “It doesn’t need to be on every corner. If you diminish the market, you diminish the investment and you’re just diminishing the economic impact that it can have.”

George Zodrow, professor of economics at Rice University, was hired by LVS to do a study on the issue. He predicted that gambling could add $13B to the state’s economy and lead to 70K permanent jobs. DFW alone could see $34.7M in added tax revenue.

The post New Dallas-Fort Worth Committee on Texas Casino Proposals May Allay Fears appeared first on Casino.org.

Green this week signed Senate Bill 2197, which expands the penalty structure for landlords who lease property to unsavory individuals who use their occupancies to run illegal gambling dens. The legislation, introduced in January by state Sen. President Ron Kouchi (D-Kauai), amends the definition of “advances gambling activity” to repeal language that had protected landlords against certain charges related to their tenants’ actions.

Under the previous law, landlords were immune from being prosecuted on advancing gambling activity charges unless they made “no effort to prevent” the occurrence or continuation of rogue gambling at their properties. The new law lends responsibility to property owners to ensure that their renters are not conducting illegal activities.

Landlords Put on Notice

Hawaii and Utah are the most restrictive gambling states and the only two states in the U.S. that do not allow commercial or tribal casinos, pari-mutuel wagering, a lottery, iGaming, or sports betting. Despite the prohibition on all forms of games of chance involving financial stakes, Hawaii’s rate of gambling addiction remains elevated compared with the rest of the nation.

Hawaii is a major feeder market for Las Vegas casinos. Those who can’t afford to fly to Southern Nevada have an abundance of underground gambling options where underground dens operate illegal slot devices and table games.

The perpetual problem for Hawaii law enforcement will ideally be lessened with harsher penalties for landlords who look the other way as to what’s going on inside their rentals and leased properties.

Illegal gambling establishments throughout the state — and perhaps most alarmingly in our residential neighborhoods — have become notorious for attracting and fostering violence, illicit drugs, sex trafficking, and other dangerous activity,” said Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steven Alm in a March letter to the Hawaii State Legislature regarding SB2197. “This is not a victimless crime, and it is not healthy for our communities.”

Alm said the former law effectively barred prosecutors from charging someone with a gambling offense if they made any effort whatsoever, including a verbal reprimand to a tenant or property manager, to stop the illegal gambling activities occurring on a property. Amending the law closes the loophole to allow prosecutors to go after landlords and put more responsibility on property owners.

Public Defenders Opposed Bill?

Hawaii’s Office of the Public Defender opposed SB2917 on grounds that it threatens passive partners of property owners who could be unaware of illegal gambling activities occurring at properties they have ownership positions.

Suppose a married couple owned a property in which the husband ran an unlawful gambling operation. While the wife knows about the operation and objects to the operation, she can do little to dissuade her husband and stop the activity,” a letter from the office read. ?

“The new definition … allows prosecutors to go after her as well as her husband and the deleterious consequences that come with a criminal prosecution like civil asset forfeiture, suspension of voting rights, and immigration consequences would fall on the wife,” the opposition added.

The office conceded that “unlawful game rooms are prevalent” throughout the state and should be stopped, but SB2197 “takes aim at the wrong people and will do little to curb the gambling.”

The post Landlords of Hawaii Underground Gambling Hubs Face Harsher Penalties appeared first on Casino.org.

Senate Bill 549, also known as the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act, would allow California tribal casino operators a window in which to sue the state’s 84 licensed cardrooms. The tribes claim the card clubs are offering games that violate their exclusivity on house-banked games, such as blackjack and Pai Gow poker.

They want the courts to shut down the games, but as sovereign nations tribes typically cannot sue or be sued in a state court. That’s because, generally speaking, state courts lack jurisdiction over the tribes. SB 549 would authorize the tribes to seek limited declaratory and relief action to determine whether the games, known as “California games,” violate their rights.

License to Shill

California games are versions of popular casino table games that take a rake from each hand while allowing players to play in the dealer position — just like in a regular poker cash game.

The tribes argue that these companies, known as ‘TPPPs, are the de facto “bank.”

Cardroom advocacy group the California Gaming Association (CGA) estimates that the bill could cost the industry around 32,000 jobs. That’s because an unfavorable court ruling stemming from the bill would force many of the clubs to downsize or shutter.

‘Backbone of Community’

Among the protestors Tuesday was Gardena mayor Tasha Cerda, whose city has a long association with card rooms and remains home to two, Hustler and the Lady Luck.

Our two cardrooms have been the backbone of our community as they will provide vital tax services that our city uses to fund vital public services, which allow us to provide a better quality of life for our residents and communities,” Gerda told iGB. “Our cardrooms employ over 1,200 residents and individuals from surrounding communities. That’s over $47 million in wages a year.”

Meanwhile, inside the State Capitol, California Nations Indian Gaming (CNIG) Chairman James Siva told the Governmental Organization Committee that SB 549 was just “a fair and reasonable pathway to allow an impartial court to decide once and for all” on the legality of California games.

“We tried initiation of federal and state lawsuits,” Siva said, as reported by Play USA. “Unfortunately, each of those lawsuits were dismissed solely on procedural grounds without addressing the merits, therefore denying tribal access to justice.”

The post California Cardrooms Protest as Bill Advances Allowing Tribes to Sue appeared first on Casino.org.

Senate Bill 692 was introduced in January by state Sen. Travis Hutson (R-Flagler). The measure seeks to provide exemptions from public records for current and former FGCC commissioners and their spouses and children.

The statute passed the Senate in February and the House in March, both by unanimous votes. DeSantis signed the act into law on June 21.

State gaming regulators and their immediate families can now keep confidential their home addresses, personal telephone numbers, dates of birth, their spouse’s places of employment, schools attended, and other personal information. SB 692 brought the FGCC into Florida’s longstanding public records act that provides exemptions for most elected and government-appointed officials.

The Legislature finds that the release of such personal identifying and location information might place the commission’s current or former commissioners and their family members in danger of physical and emotional harm from disgruntled individuals whose businesses or professional practices have come under the scrutiny of the commission,” the state’s lawmaking body wrote in its explanation of the bill sent to DeSantis.

The governor had no comment on signing the bill.

The FGCC has recently cracked down on arcades where law enforcement says illegal gambling machines are operating. The confidentiality statute could help protect commissioners from backlash from those business owners.

Gaming Regulatory Expanding

Florida’s gaming industry is amid considerable change after the US Supreme Court last week denied an appeal challenging the state’s deal with the Seminole Tribe to allow the Hard Rock owner to operate online sports betting in the Sunshine State. Lower federal courts ruled that the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs didn’t err in approving the Class III gaming compact that DeSantis and the tribe reached in 2021.

Federal courts opined that since the Hard Rock Bet online sportsbook computer servers remain on Seminole sovereign territory, and Florida lawmakers earlier passed legislation to redefine tribal gaming to permit the transmission of bets via the internet, the compact remains in IGRA compliance.

Gaming Oversight?

The FGCC has regulatory jurisdiction over most gaming in the Sunshine State, except for the Florida Lottery. The commission governs parimutuel wagering, slot casinos in Miami-Dade and Broward, and manages the Seminole Compact.

The lone form of gambling, along with the lottery, that doesn’t fall under the FGCC’s scope are the two gaming properties run by the Miccosukee Tribe. The tribal nation hasn’t entered into a state gaming compact in favor of operating Class I and II gaming, which allows for electronic bingo-based slot-like devices at its Miccosukee Casino & Resort in Miami and gaming plaza along Alligator Alley.

The post Florida Gaming Regulators Afforded Personal Confidentiality With DeSantis Signature appeared first on Casino.org.

Missouri State Secretary Jay Ashcroft’s (R) office is currently validating the more than 340K signatures that the Winning for Missouri Education campaign submitted in early May. The resident signatures lend support to a statewide sports gambling referendum that would amend the Missouri Constitution to permit sports betting.

The survey concluded about 38% of likely voters would vote in favor of the measure while 35% would reject it. About 26% said they weren’t sure at this time.?

Messaging Needs Improvement

Matt Taglia, the poll’s senior director, said in a release that proponents of legal sports betting in the Show-Me State might be smart to rethink their campaign strategy.

Winning for Missouri Education is supported by Missouri’s professional sports teams, including the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, MLB’s Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals, the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, and MLS’ Kansas City Current and St. Louis City soccer clubs. DraftKings and FanDuel have also bankrolled the initiative.

I think there’s some messaging work to do here if you’re on the side of passing sports betting in Missouri,” Taglia said. “I don’t think folks necessarily know what all it entails but a lot of them are, in principle, supportive of the idea.”

The question that would go before voters would ask if they support allowing sportsbooks at the state’s 13 riverboat casinos. The casinos would be allowed to operate an online sports wagering platform, too.

The retail sports betting privileges would extend to the state’s professional sports stadiums and arenas. Those venues would also be allowed to operate an online sportsbook skin.

The Missouri Gaming Commission would be allowed to issue two online sportsbook licenses that would not be tethered to a riverboat or sports stadium.

The referendum would require the first $5 million the state receives from sports gambling to be directed to problem gambling programs. The remaining tax benefit would support K-12 public education.

If the sports betting question is approved, state lawmakers would need to determine licensing fees for the sportsbook rights and a state tax on oddsmakers’ gross revenue.

Signatures Needed

For the sports betting question to reach the November ballot, Ashcroft’s office must validate a minimum of 171,592 of the submitted signatures.

If Ashcroft’s office finds there are enough validated signatures, the state secretary will issue a “Certificate of Sufficiency” that moves the petition to the ballot for the general election.

Missouri is bordered by eight states — Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. All but Oklahoma has some form of legal sports betting.

The post Missouri Sports Betting Referendum Expected to Be Close, Poll Concludes appeared first on Casino.org.

A grassroots group of Fairfax County residents behind the “No Casino Coalition” says the fight is not over to prevent a casino from coming to Tysons. Though state efforts in the Richmond capital to designate Fairfax as a qualified host county for a casino failed this year, the coalition says talks could resume during the 2025 legislative session.

Each year, Virginia counties prepare legislative agendas that they submit to their state representatives in Richmond. “No Casino Coalition” members want to make sure the Fairfax government stresses its opposition to a casino.

The casino issue is not dead,” Sally Horn, a member of the group, said during a meeting of the Sully District Council of Citizens Associations last week. Her comments were first reported by the Fairfax Times.

The “No Casino Coalition” website says it has the support of 12 homeowners associations and local municipalities. They include the Clarks Crossing Homes Association, Fairfax Federation of Citizens Association, Great Falls Citizens Association, Greater Tysons Citizens Coalition, Mason District Council, McClean Citizens Association, McClean Hunt Homeowners Association, Reston Citizens Association, Shouse Village Community Association, Sully District Council, Vienna Council, and Western Fairfax County Citizens Association.

County Supervisors Petitioned?

“No Casino Coalition” is asking the Fairfax Supervisors to write the state lawmakers, specifically state Sen. David Marsden (D-Fairfax) who spearheaded the 2024 casino effort, asking them to oppose casino legislation. Such a plea would likely be well received, as a majority of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in January said they opposed Marsden’s casino push.

“What happened is that people in a vacuum worked on a plan and went to Richmond without coordinating with Fairfax County,” McKay said at the time. “None of those groups have come formally, sat down with us and asked, ‘Hey, here’s what we’re proposing. Will Fairfax County engage in conversation with us?'”

Casino Proponents Urge Diversification?

Fairfax County and Tysons where Marsden proposed allowing Comstock/Clemente to develop a casino on the site of a former auto dealership along Route 7 relies heavily on office real estate to prop up the economy. However, much of the area’s vast commercial real estate has remained vacant since COVID-19.

Marsden says that’s leading to reduced property valuations of the office complexes and lower property tax income for the county. Marsden believes to continue the quality of life that attracts many businesspeople from D.C. to the Virginia suburbs, homeowners could be put on the hook to make up those tax losses.

It’s a position shared by state Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), who is the majority leader of the Democratic Party.

There’s a real need to try to figure out a way to help plug the property tax hole that’s going to happen,” Surovell said in January. “If we want good schools, the burden of offsetting tax revenue is going to fall on homeowners. The county needs more revenue sources.”

The post Fairfax Casino Opponents in Virginia Urge County Supervisors to Join Campaign appeared first on Casino.org.

More than two years after Bill No. 2234 — legislation to authorize Las Vegas-style casinos in the world’s fifth-largest country by area — passed the Chamber of Deputies, the statute is finally finding favor in the Federal Senate. After many months of deliberations and alarms regarding the dangers of casino gambling rang by the Christian caucus, the measure narrowly passed the Senate Constitution and Justice Committee by a 14-12 vote on Wednesday.

Lula has been supportive of gaming expansion since assuming office in January 2023. Last December, Lula signed Bill No. 3626 to authorize the formation of Brazil’s sports betting and iGaming industries.

Casino Details

Casino gambling has been banned in Brazil since 1946, but Bill No. 2234 would repeal the gaming prohibition. Lula has maintained his predecessor’s belief that Brazil should legalize casinos to further develop its tourism industry and better compete for international expos and conventions that could be held at large-scale resorts.

Bill sponsor Sen. Iraja Abreu (Social Democratic Party-Tocantins) said it’s time Brazil gets off the casino sidelines.

We can no longer lose this great opportunity that other competing countries have already understood and is seen to generate jobs, income, and taxes, which will obviously be reversed into benefits for the Brazilian people in the most essential areas, such as health, education, social, and infrastructure,” Iraja said.

Bill No. 2234 would allow resorts with a minimum of 100 hotel rooms that also have restaurants and bars, as well as meeting facilities, to pursue casino licenses. Licenses would be capped at one casino in each state and the Federal District, though Sao Paulo would be permitted up to three casinos. Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas, and Para would be allowed two gaming destinations.

Licensed casinos would need to pay R$600,000 (US$110,800) every three months to the federal government for the gaming rights. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) generated by the casinos would be subject to a 17% federal tax.

Sands Plan

Las Vegas Sands, the world’s largest casino operator in terms of market capitalization at $33 billion, has for many years expressed interest in developing an integrated resort casino in Brazil.

Sands is famed for its Marina Bay Sands destination in Singapore and its many casinos in China’s Macau. Sands previously developed and operated The Venetian and Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip and Sands Bethlehem in Pennsylvania.

Sands in recent years has been focused on Texas, specifically Dallas, for an integrated resort casino that could accompany an NBA arena. Dr. Miriam Adelson, Mr. Adelson’s widow who remains the casino company’s largest shareholder with a 46% stake, last year purchased a controlling interest in the NBA Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban.

The post Brazil Lawmakers Vote in Support of Integrated Resort Casino Bill appeared first on Casino.org.

Rendell was governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. During his time in office, Rendell championed the legalization of casino gambling, specifically slot machines.

Rendell writes that the casino industry heavily lobbied his administration during the state’s development of the Gaming Act passed in 2004. Rendell says casinos told him the 54% tax on gross revenue won by slots was far too high and would damper casino companies from investing in the state.

Two decades later, Pennsylvania is one of the nation’s richest gaming states with 17 brick-and-mortar casinos and an industry that generated a record $5.7 billion in revenue last year.

Skill Tax Should Mirror Slot Levy

Skill games continue to operate across the commonwealth in a grey area inside restaurants and bars, gas stations, convenience stores, and other small businesses. Business owners say the machines, which unlike a slot require the player to identify a winning payline by tapping on the corresponding symbols, have provided critical revenue that has helped offset inflationary pressures. Revenue from the skill games is currently divvied up between the game’s software developer, machine manufacturer and distributor, and the host business.

State courts have ruled that skill games do not fall under the scope of the Gaming Act because they aren’t purely games of chance. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry (D) is appealing the matter to the state Supreme Court.

In the interim, state lawmakers who have sided with the skill gaming industry have proposed legislation to regulate and tax the grey games. House Bill 2075, a bipartisan statute with 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans lending their support, would impose a 16% tax on the skill game win.

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has proposed a higher tax of around 42%. Rendell says both rates are erroneous.

I am alarmed to hear that several current members of the General Assembly are proposing a disastrous tax giveaway that I believe would benefit deep-pocketed, out-of-state gaming interests who have been flooding Pennsylvania with political campaign contributions. These interests operate another type of slot machine-style device that is self-serving called a ‘skill game,'” Rendell wrote.

“Rather than stick with the time-tested 52% tax rate that has served Pennsylvania well for nearly two decades, these legislators want to kill our golden goose and cut these out-of-state interests a sweetheart deal that would tax their machines somewhere between a laughable 16% or a clearly non-uniform 42%,” the former governor continued. “This is the definition of fiscal irresponsibility, in my opinion.?Our legal gaming industry has already proven that all forms of slot machine-style gaming in the commonwealth, including the type most similar to skill games — specifically, VGTs — can operate successfully at the 52% rate.”

VGTs, or video gaming terminals, are allowed inside diesel truck stops. VGT revenue last year totaled $41.2 million — down slightly from the machines’ banner year of $42 million set in 2022.

Legislation Stalls

HB 2075 was introduced in February and directed to the House Gaming Oversight Committee. The skill game measure has since sat unacted on.

While the 2024 Pennsylvania General Assembly’s session runs through Nov. 30, the House Gaming Oversight Committee does not currently have any scheduled meetings.

The post Former Pennsylvania Governor Opposes Skill Gaming Tax Lower Than Slot Levy appeared first on Casino.org.

Dumont, who’s president and COO of Las Vegas Sands (LVS), as well as Miriam Adelson’s son-in-law, is the new majority owner of the Mavericks, along with Adelson.

“When we bought the Mavericks, we weren’t really thinking about casino gaming,” Dumont told reporters on Friday.

“Us buying the team had nothing to do with getting gambling in Texas,” Dumont said. “Las Vegas Sands has been looking in Texas way before we ever knew we were going to buy the team.”

“Now, if there ever comes a time where those two things converge and there’s common interest there, and it makes sense, then we’ll pursue it,” he added. “But for now, I’m very focused on the Dallas Mavericks doing the things that are right for the Mavericks and Las Vegas Sands is very focused on doing things that are right for Las Vegas Sands.”

LVS continues to show perseverance and patience as it lobbies for casino legislation.

“We think long term. We’re not people who think in the short term,” Dumont said. “We’re patient … Over time, hopefully, we’ll be successful.”

Experts Weigh In

“Patience is a virtue, especially in the politics of the state legislature,” Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston, told Casino.org when asked about Dumont’s comments on casino legislation.

“Major legislative changes are always a waiting game in the Texas legislature,” he added.?“This is especially true when it comes to gambling, which has both moral and economic impacts on the state.”

Rice University professor Mark P. Jones added that Dumont ideally would like to see destination resort casino legislation passed during the 2025 legislative session.

“Dumont has good reason to believe that at some point this decade destination resort casino legislation will pass out of the Texas Legislature and be approved by voters,” Jones told Casino.org.

That political achievement could be combined with a Mavericks’ championship and a new home complex in Dallas.

“If the Mavericks return to the NBA Championship in 2030, those games will quite possibly be played in a new arena located within the complex of one of the largest and most impressive destination resort casinos in the world, courtesy of the Las Vegas Sands,” Jones said.

Political Positions

During the 2023 legislative session, LVS and other casino supporters got much-needed support from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, R, and House Speaker Dade Phelan, R.

“It is always possible that the lieutenant governor and the Republican senators could change their position vis-a-vis casino gambling, if not in 2025, then in 2027,” Jones said. Perhaps their positions could change if the state faces a budget crisis, he added.

The post Mavericks Co-Owner Patrick Dumont Has Patience for Casino-Enabling Legislation in Texas appeared first on Casino.org.

Bally’s brass continued to stress that forcing their casino floors to go entirely smoke-free would devastate gaming revenue. That, they claim, would result in job layoffs and less tax money for the state.

Legislation to force the two casinos to extinguish indoor tobacco smoking failed yet again in the Providence capital. But the evening before the state Senate and House of Representatives adjourned for 2024, members of a House committee provided hope for casino smoking opponents that 2025 will finally be the year gaming floors go smoke-free.

Ceremonial Vote

House Bill 7500 was introduced in February by Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D-South Kingstown), a former smoker who has been championing efforts in Providence to extend the state’s Public Health and Workplace Safety Act that banned indoor smoking in most businesses and public places to the Bally’s properties. Nine Democrats co-sponsored the partisan measure.

HB 7500 was directed to the House Finance Committee where the statute was considered on May 3. The committee members, despite being controlled 13-2 by Democrats, motioned to hold the bill “for further study” of the economic impacts such an enactment would create for the Lincoln and Tiverton casinos.

The Rhode Island chapter of CEASE — Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects — though disappointed that 2024 repeated history in not forcing the Bally’s casinos to usher smokers outside, acknowledged that the committee vote could provide momentum to get a casino smoking bill over the finish line in 2025.

Bally’s Corp. shareholders in May rejected a proposal from an investor that requested the company conduct a comprehensive review of how business would be impacted if all all of its casinos were to eliminate indoor smoking. Bally’s had encouraged shareholders to vote against the “unwarranted and unreasonable” pitch.

Bally’s Wins

Along with retaining smoking at its two casinos, Bally’s successfully lobbied state lawmakers to allow the Lincoln and Tiverton casinos to extend higher credit lines to VIPs and high rollers. At the request of the casino company, Sen. President Dominick Ruggerio (D-North Providence) led Senate Bill 3040 through the legislature.

The bill would allow Bally’s to issue $100K in cash to qualified players, up from the current $50K cap. The Senate signed off on the measure in early June and the House approved the statute on June 11.

SB 3040 has since been forwarded to Gov. Daniel McKee’s (D) desk. The governor hasn’t yet acted on the casino credit amendment but is expected to allow the measure to become law.

The post Rhode Island Casino Smoking Opponents Hope to Clear the Air in 2025 appeared first on Casino.org.

The bill, HB 1215, failed to get approval in the House of Representatives after a 261-102 vote on Thursday. Earlier, it was approved in the Senate by a voice vote.

The proposal was an amendment to other legislation on development approvals and appeals.

It would have allowed Hampton, N.H.’s Board of Selectmen the ability to close a local street. In turn, that could have led to the expansion of the 125-year-old waterfront complex.

The Hampton Beach gaming property’s majority owner, Sal Lupoli, who is president and CEO of Lupoli Companies, wants to add a convention center, 500-room hotel, a parking garage, and increase the size of the site’s ballroom, according to the Portsmouth Herald, a New Hampshire news outlet.

The concert ballroom, which now seats 2,200, would be expanded to seat about 3,500, according to the proposal.

The entire project is estimated to cost about $600M.

Last year, Lupoli acquired the nearby Mainsail Motel and Cottages for $7.35M.

Promises Economic Growth

The project has many supporters.

If redevelopment moves forward, it would “revitalize the Hampton Beach boardwalk area” and “lead to millions of dollars of economic growth in the region,” state Rep. Joe Alexander, R-Goffstown, said in a summary on the legislation, the Herald reported.

It would be wonderful to have a new venue because the property has become pretty rundown,” added state Rep. Kelley Potenza, R-Rochester.

Supporters further argue if the redevelopment takes place, the casino would draw customers year-round.

Concerns About Proposal

The fact that the legislative proposal was added as an amendment to a bill led to concerns from state Rep. Jim Maggiore, D-North Hampton. He also pointed out it was approved only by a voice vote in the Senate, adding that it would have become a “needless doubling of exemptions.”

Even if the amendment was approved by the legislature, the local Board of Selectmen would have needed approvals from other local boards before moving forward.?The local boards include the Hampton Planning Board, the Hampton Beach Village District, and the Hampton Beach Area Commission, the Herald reported.

Without the state legislation getting approved, the town will likely need to have a local vote before officials could eliminate D Street.

The earliest that vote could take place is at the March 2025 Hampton annual town meeting. That later date means the whole schedule gets delayed. The casino expansion project will take about three years’ worth of construction.

The post New Hampshire Casino Renovation Proposal Faces Delays After Legislators Reject Bill appeared first on Casino.org.

The Pennsylvania chapter of Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) joined the United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 9 union to rally for pro-worker bills that continue lingering in the state capital building. One measure they voiced support for was House Bill 1657, the so-called Protecting Workers From Secondhand Smoke Act.

Legislators have a responsibility to stand with workers and that means ensuring the safety of everyone in the workplace, starting with eliminating indoor smoking in our casinos,” said Jennifer Rubolino, a table games dealer at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh and a CEASE co-lead in the commonwealth. “Closing the casino smoking loophole is not just a moral duty but a smart decision for the state, especially considering that 90% of guests do not smoke.”

HB 1657 was introduced in September 2023 by Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny), who chairs the House Health Committee and for years has been trying to close the casino smoking loophole. The measure passed Frankel’s Health Committee in mid-November with a 13-11 partisan vote where each “yea” vote came from Democrats and each “nay” came from all GOP members.

Health Over Profits

Many Republican lawmakers have seemingly sided with the casino lobby on claims that a full smoking ban would push some gamblers to nearby Atlantic City where indoor smoking remains permitted in certain sections. The casinos claim a tobacco prohibition would reduce revenue and result in the gaming venues cutting jobs.

The primary Parx property has been the top-grossing casino in the state for several years. While smoking proponents say that’s because the casino gets much of the nonsmoking crowd in the Philadelphia metro, casino smoking opponents say it’s because smoke-free casinos are preferred by the majority of the public.

‘We’ve seen the success of smoke-free casinos in this state,” Rubolino continued.

Rubolino added that even if smoke-free casinos generated less revenue, clean indoor air workplaces and protecting workers’ health should outweigh in importance casino companies’ bottom lines.

“How do you put a price on the health of employees? We urge legislators to pass comprehensive smoke-free laws to ensure that no one has to sacrifice their health for a paycheck,” she concluded.

Session Longer Than Most

Many state governments have much shorter sessions than Pennsylvania. The Keystone State’s lawmaking period for 2024 began on January 2 and runs through November 30, meaning there’s still plenty of time for Frankel’s casino smoking bill to get across the finish line.

“Unions in Pennsylvania and unions around this country have fought for workers and it’s not just wages and benefits,” Frankel said at the capital. “It is also for their health and welfare. That is what we are talking about with the Clean Indoor Air Act.

The post Pennsylvania Casino Smoking Opponents Rally at Harrisburg Capitol appeared first on Casino.org.

Senate Bill 3040 seeks to amend the state’s gaming regulations to permit Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton to double the credit they can lend to VIPs and other gamblers wishing to bet big.

Under Rhode Island’s present rules, the two brick-and-mortar casinos can lend up to $50K per player in cash. SB3040 would take the cap to $100K.

Bally’s asked state Sen. President Dominick Ruggerio (D-North Providence) for the higher lending line. The Rhode Island-based gaming corporation said the amendment is needed to allow its casinos to compete with gaming resorts in neighboring Connecticut and Massachusetts where there are no limits.

Opponents Raise Problem Gambling Concerns

State Sen. Sam Bell (D-Providence) was among the “no” votes for SB3040. He pondered why a casino should need to allow a gambler to lose more than $50K in a single day.

This is bad,” Bell declared. “Going into debt from gambling is dangerous. We should not maximize profit when it comes to an addictive product.”

Bally’s says many high rollers have the financial ability to weather such losses. Extending credit isn’t to provide gamblers with money they don’t have, but to provide them with an easier, safer means of obtaining large sums of cash than carrying tens of thousands of dollars in bills into the business.

Credit, or “markers,” must be repaid by the player within a certain timeframe, typically 15 to 45 days. Casinos also don’t lend markers to players without doing a credit check.

The Rhode Island House has until June 14 to pass the casino credit bill to Gov. Daniel McKee’s (D) desk.

Casino Smoking Remains

Legislation introduced in February to overhaul the state’s clean indoor air law that provides indoor smoking exceptions for Rhode Island’s casinos and parimutuel wagering facilities won’t reach McKee’s desk this year.

Bally’s in 2022 announced that tobacco smoking would no longer be permitted at table games.

A grassroots coalition of Bally’s casino workers continues to lobby state lawmakers in Providence to pass legislation to free their workplaces of secondhand smoke. Ruggerio, one of the most powerful lawmakers in the heavily Democrat-controlled General Assembly, is opposed to such a change.

The Senate president last year said gamblers who don’t want to be around tobacco smoke should “stay home” and gamble online. Ruggerio is a smoker himself and has battled cancer in the past.

The post Rhode Island Senate Approves Raising Credit Limits at Bally’s Casinos appeared first on Casino.org.

The Malaysian conglomerate runs Resorts World New York in Queens. That venue is near Addabbo’s district and is viewed as one of the leading contenders to procure one of the three downstate permits because of its long operating history in New York and track record of delivering large tax receipts to the state.

Rimkunas is an associate at lobbying firm Codro & Company — a firm to which Genting is paying $90,000 a month for various lobbying efforts. She didn’t comment to New York Focus, but Codro’s website confirms she works on gaming issues.

Addabbo Pushing to Speed Up New York Casino Approval Process

As things currently stand, decisions on the downstate casino permits might not arrive until late 2025 or early the following year. That’s to the dismay of some gaming companies and policymakers, including Addabbo, that want to fast-track the process in effort to the tap into the jobs-creating and revenue-generating aspects of downstate casinos.

Last month, Addaboo and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon) recently proposed bills that, if signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), would prompt bidders for the New York City area casinos to submit applications by July 31, potentially paving the way for approvals by the middle of 2025.

The state senator confirmed that Codro made some suggestions on language for his legislation, but he told New York Focus his counsel authored the bill.

Never does anyone have a verbatim, rubber-stamp authority from the outside, no less to get their bill written, and that did not happen here,” he said in an interview with the reporters.

His support of Resorts World New York’s efforts to claim one of the three downstate permits is well-documented. Genting has promised significant expansion plans at the property and at least $1 billion in annual taxes to Albany if it can convert the property to a Las Vegas-style casino hotel.

Addabbo Bill Already Amended

Unless Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) calls an emergency session, New York’s 2024 legislative session ended yesterday. Earlier this week, Addabbo and State Sen. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) introduced an amendment that would require regulators to establish Aug. 31 as the deadline for applications from gaming companies with the aim of awarding the three licenses by the end of next year.

That wouldn’t do much to speed along the already widely criticized timeline, but it could give some bidders that are in precarious positions time to firm their proposals or seek alternatives.

Specific to Queens, Genting pressing for casino acceleration legislation makes sense because a proposal by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International to build an entertainment district with an integrated resort near Citi Field is on life support.

The post Resorts World NY Lobbyist Looms Large in Casino Acceleration Bill appeared first on Casino.org.

It might come as a surprise to some that Las Vegas-like slot machines remain on many overseas military installations run by the US government. US Rep. Paul Tonko (D-New York) thinks that’s a bad thing and wants the gambling terminals removed.

Tonko hopes to accomplish that by tacking on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2025 fiscal year. Tonko submitted an amendment to the annual federal bill before the May 31 deadline.

Tonko, a congressman since January 2009 representing New York in the US Capitol, is becoming an outspoken critic of sports betting in Washington, DC. Since 2023, he’s been pushing federal legislation to restrict how sportsbooks advertise their services and products on the belief that the expansion of sports gambling is causing societal harm.

Military Slots Big Business

According to Military.com, the US military banned slot machines on all domestic bases in 1951. Gaming machines were removed from overseas stations in the 1970s, but after soldiers ventured off base to gamble — sometimes at underground illegal gambling hubs — the military brought back the terminals in the 1980s.

The US government has used the slot money, which in 2015 Casino.org reported to be north of $100 million a year, to fund other recreational activities on military bases. In 2015, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) sought to outlaw slot machines on military bases on the belief that it was resulting in gambling addiction problems among service members.

Nearly a decade later, Tonko is raising the same concerns.

I’ve been leading the charge in Congress to address the rise in problem gambling, and I’m hopeful my NDAA provision would lessen the risk of our service members developing a gambling addiction,” Tonko told Military.com.

“Our brave servicemen and women sacrifice everything to protect our nation and its freedoms. We must do all we can to support them by confronting problem gambling head-on and ensuring this known addictive product is treated with the seriousness and precaution that we do with other addictions,” Tonko added.

Odds Long?

The 2025 fiscal year version of the National Defense Authorization Act received more than 1,300 amendments. Since the defense spending bill is a must-pass annual piece of legislation, it’s a prime target for legislative pork, though Tonko’s provision is certainly military-focused and relevant.

Republicans in the past have been slow to support the removal of slots from overseas military bases. GOP members say a bit of entertainment and enjoyment for those who wish to participate isn’t something that Congress should stand in the way of.

The post US Lawmaker Proposes Banning Slot Machines on Overseas Military Bases appeared first on Casino.org.

The state Senate in Albany late last month unanimously passed legislation that would amend New York’s regulations on gambling adverts. The statute would also apply to racinos, parimutuel wagering businesses, fantasy sports, and video lottery venues.

The Assembly version of the measure is Assembly Bill 1118. The bill would require “all advertisements for gambling and sports betting to include warnings about potential harmful and addictive effects of gambling.”

Regulatory Safeguards?

The full New York Senate, aside from Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-Brooklyn) who was absent from the vote, believes the state’s gaming interests should be required to present the risks of the products they offer not unlike tobacco.

Other gaming bills facing Thursday’s legislative deadline include Senate Bill 9236, which would require 1% of the sports betting tax received by the state to be directed toward problem gambling treatment programs. Another 2% would go to youth sports.

Another bill, Senate Bill 9044, would raise the minimum age to participate in fantasy sports from 18 to 21. Both of those bills, however, remain in Senate committees and are likely dead for 2024.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Queens), who chairs the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming, and Wagering, also saw his push to legalize iGaming fail to materialize in 2024.

Federal Lawsuit Persists?

New York lawmakers’ efforts to place more guardrails on gambling advertisements came after a Bronx resident earlier this year filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against DraftKings for alleged deceptive advertising practices.

Such sports betting advertising wording has since been banned by gaming regulators in several states, but not New York. The New York Gaming Commission on its website clarifies how supposedly risk-free promotions are to work.

“Risk-Free Bets are when a patron receives the amount of a wager in free bets or site credits if the wager loses. These promotions are typically used as sign-up offers and are designed to incentivize customers to an operator platform,” the commission website reads. “Bettors typically use a promotional code during sign up, place their first wager, and, if that wager loses, are refunded the amount in free bets or site credit.”

The post Clock Ticking on New York Gaming Bill to Strengthen Advertising Safeguards appeared first on Casino.org.

“If Dan Patrick doesn’t support legislation, it won’t pass,” University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus recently told Casino.org.?“He effectively controls the Senate and has an increased influence in the House after the primary elections.”

“Unless Patrick is convinced that the economic benefits of casinos outweigh their social costs, he is unlikely to put pressure on the Republican senators to vote in favor of destination resort casino legislation,” Jones added.

Based on his public statements, Patrick will not bring the legislation to the floor [in next year’s session] unless at least 10 of the 19 Republican senators — possibly 11 of 20 in 2025 if Republican Adam Hinojosa defeats Democrat Morgan LaMantia in Senate District 27 this fall — are in support, and it is unlikely that a majority of the GOP state senators will publicly go on record in favor of the passage of legislation without Patrick intervening in support of the casino legislation.”

For gambling legislation to move through the legislature, there would have to be bipartisan support led by the Senate Republicans, according to Rottinghaus. In the current climate of political polarization, “that’s a tough sell.”

Patrick has also said a resort casino bill will need support from more Republicans than Democrats in the Senate, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Republicans currently outnumber Democrats in the Senate by 19-12.

“The Republican Party platform has a plank against gambling, and because this has become a bigger feature of primary elections for Republicans, it’s hard to see a lot of Republicans bending on this issue,” Rottinghaus added.

Senate Will Take the Lead

In next year’s session, the House apparently will let the Senate take the lead on any gambling expansion proposal.

After burning energy and political capital in 2023 when, regardless of what happened in the House, casino legislation was going to be dead on arrival in the Senate, the House is going to let the Texas Senate take the lead,” Jones said.

In 2023, House Republicans “incurred the wrath of the relatively small, but energized set of Republican primary voters who oppose casinos for nothing as the Senate’s steadfast opposition prevented casino supporters from gaining the final half dozen votes they needed to pass the casino legislation in the House,” Jones added.

Political Contributions

Political pressure to approve casino expansion is mounting as Miriam Adelson, the largest owner of Las Vegas Sands stock and a Republican megadonor, and other casino supporters, continue to spend tens of millions of dollars combined a year to back Texas gambling proposals.

Adelson has donated more than $10M this year, including to the Texas Defense PAC, which has supported multiple candidates in the primaries.

“The tens of millions donated by Miriam Adelson and others pale in comparison to the hundreds of millions companies such as the Sands Corporation stand to make annually if permitted to operate one or more massive destination resort casinos in Texas, a state whose two leading metro areas (Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston) each have more residents than three dozen states,” Jones said.

The post Successful Texas Gambling Legislation Is Questionable as Dan Patrick Remains the Gatekeeper appeared first on Casino.org.

States obtained the legal authority to determine their own laws regarding sports gambling after the US Supreme Court in May 2018 overturned a federal law that had limited single-game sports wagering to Nevada. Minnesota Democrats who sponsored the 2024 bill say they were closer than ever to bringing legal sports gambling to the state.

DFLers said the state’s Native American tribes, horse racetracks, professional sports teams, and charities didn’t oppose House File 2000, but politicking in the State Capitol got in the way and led to the sports betting bill being just shy of the needed votes to pass the House chamber.

Minnesota Momentum

Though it will presumably give Minnesotans who want to bet legally on sports little comfort, the chief sponsor of the 2024 sports betting bill is optimistic that 2025 will be the year that sports betting clears the finish line.

We’re going to come up just short on the sports betting bill this year,” Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL-Anoka) tweeted about the sports betting shortcoming. “But in the last few days, we proved that we could find a deal that all the major stakeholders could live with.”

Stephenson added that there was “meaningful progress that can be a foundation for the future.”

The 2024 sports betting compromise would have provided tribal nations with the exclusive rights to online sports betting. The state would have received 22% of the net win.

The remaining 15% would be deposited into a “tribal equalization” fund that would have been dispersed to smaller tribes or tribes whose partnered online sportsbook failed to secure ample market share. The stipulation was crafted to assure that the more powerful tribes that own the larger tribal casinos in the state don’t also command the lion’s share of the sports betting benefit.

HHR Overturn?

While legal sports betting will remain on the sidelines in Minnesota for at least another year, lawmakers did pass one piece of gaming legislation.

“We are disappointed that the only gaming bill that passed this year will prevent our racetracks from increasing purses by using Historical Horse Racing,” said Randy Sampson, chief executive at Canterbury Park. “We believe this proposal deserves a much closer look than it was given by the legislators.”

The post Odds Shorten on Minnesota Sports Betting Becoming Legal in 2025 appeared first on Casino.org.

The North Carolina legislative session began on April 24 and runs through the end of July. House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), who initially supported Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger’s (R-Rockingham) push to tack on a casino amendment to the state’s 2023-25 budget bill last fall, says the discussions that ended in controversy could block further efforts to bring casino resorts to the Tar Heel State.

During the House’s recent consideration of a video lottery terminal bill that would allow VLTs in restaurants and bars, Moore said leftover “hard feelings” about how Berger’s casino drive played out could lessen support for more gaming.

I think the conversation last year as it related to casinos could overshadow the discussion about updates to the lottery with VLTs,” Moore said.

VLTs are slot-like gaming machines that calculate outcomes based on electronic lottery simulations typically facilitated by a centralized lottery system.

Casino Support Wanes

Moore rescinded his support for Berger’s casino bill, which would have created gaming licenses for the counties of Rockingham, Anson, and Nash, following pushback from his House Republican colleagues and the targeted communities. Despite public polling suggesting that state residents are ready to bring casinos to the state, House Republicans took issue with Berger seemingly striking a backroom deal with a casino company based in Maryland in crafting the budget bill pork.

Berger said the casinos would have generated regional economic activity and kept gaming money from flowing into Virginia where casinos continue to sprout up. But following his legislative defeat and threats from his supporters to finance a primary challenger to his 2024 reelection, Berger folded on his casino dreams.

The powerful Senate leader has since said he wouldn’t try again to pass casino legislation in favor of allowing the House to initiate the process.

“If there are folks who decide it’s something they want to pick up and move with, we’ll see,” Berger said in February. “But I am certainly not intent on moving [a casino bill].”

Moore Could Be Moving On?

Moore might not be around Raliegh much longer should his 2024 election go his way.

Moore has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a second term in the White House in November. Trump narrowly edged Joe Biden by about 1.3% during the 2020 election. Moore is a heavy favorite against Genant.

The post Enthusiasm for Commercial Casinos in North Carolina Fades Among GOP Leaders appeared first on Casino.org.

The Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG), an independent wagering reform group, asserts that in its effort to ward off Pritzker’s proposal of higher taxes on sports wagering, the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) is using tired practices and “has not substantiated its claims.”

It’s no feat of strength to push a fantastical narrative, then collect signatures and proclaim a mandate,” said CFG founder and funder Derek Webb in a statement. “Global gambling conglomerates are expert at positioning sports betting as a foot in the door before the real floodgates inevitably open. Sports betting often serves as a gateway to slots and table games down the line, because they bring in even more revenue — not to mention harm.”

CFG believes that signatures collected in a petition drive orchestrated by SBA may have been acquired under false pretenses. Among gaming companies, the Sports Betting Alliance is supported by BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Penn Entertainment, among others.

CFG Refutes SBA’s New York, Pennsylvania Comps

Should Illinois implement a 35% levy on sports wagering, it’d be the third-highest rate in the country among large states trailing only Pennsylvania (36%) and New York (51%). Last year in Illinois, bettors wagered $11.6 billion at the state’s online and retail sportsbooks with operators generating a hold of 8.6%, sending receipts of $150 million to the state.

“New York’s higher tax rate has not affected hold, which would shift if odds shifted. This is a direct refutation of SBA’s claim that higher taxes would lead to worse odds for players,” observed CFG.

Delaware, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island also tax sports wagering at 51%.

iGaming Pitched as Alternative to Sports Betting Tax Hike

Though not directly mentioned by CSG, SBA members have offered up iGaming as a compromise to Pritzker’s proposed sports wagering tax increase. The gaming companies believe that online casinos would unleash a new revenue stream for Illinois.

A recent study by SBA noted that land-based casino revenue in Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, and Virginia would modestly increase if iGaming was permitted in those jurisdictions. That was likely an effort to allay fears that online casinos could cannibalize brick-and-mortar counterparts.

While SBA claimed iGaming would create $750 million in new revenue for Illinois, or more than triple the amount that would be raised from increasing the sports wagering tax, the state isn’t rushing to advance online casino legislation.

Still, Illinois needs cash. For the fiscal starting July 1, the state is expected to have a budget deficit of $891 million, or $721 million when accounting for a $170 contribution to the “rainy day” fund. That would mark the state’s first deficit in four years. Pritzker’s most recently proposed budget calls for $52.7 billion in spending, up from $40 billion in 2019.

The post Campaign for Fairer Gambling Says Sportsbook Firms Using ‘Dubious Claims’ in Illinois appeared first on Casino.org.

State Sen. John Keenan (D-Plymouth) proposed increasing the online sports betting tax from 20% to 51%. The lawmaker suggested the regulatory amendment could be tacked on to the state’s 2025 budget bill that the chamber was deliberating.

Keenan reasoned that the state needs more revenue from gambling to combat societal issues mobile betting is bringing to the commonwealth as the industry matures and continues to expand. ??

The public harm issues are going to get so far ahead of us unless we act. We have an obligation to all the residents and taxpayers of the commonwealth of Massachusetts to use whatever revenues we can from the industry to prevent the harms from happening,” Keenan said.

His colleagues disagreed. After Keenan raised the sports betting tax suggestion, the chamber voted down the proposal and moved forward with the budget bill review.

Sports Betting Business?

Legal, in-person sports betting at Massachusetts’ three casinos began on Jan. 31, 2023. Online sportsbooks went live on March 10, 2023.

Through 2023, Massachusetts collected nearly $93.9 million in taxes and assessments from licensed sports wagering operators. Of the sports betting tax, 45% is allotted to the General Fund, 17.5% goes to the Workplace Investment Trust Fund, and 27.5% is directed to the Gaming Local Aid Fund.

The remaining 1% of the sports betting tax is for the Youth Development and Achievement Fund.

Massachusetts’ retail sportsbooks at Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park are taxed lower at 15%.

Charlie Baker (R), now the head of the NCAA, signed Massachusetts’ sports betting bill into law in August 2022. In his new role, Baker has advocated for state governments where sports betting is allowed to prohibit bets involving the performance of individual college student-athletes, or player props. Such wagers are already prohibited in Massachusetts.

Tax Increases

Although Keenan was an outlier in supporting a push to raise the state’s tax rate on mobile sportsbook operators in the Massachusetts State House, he isn’t alone in states that allow online sports gambling.

Lawmakers in Ohio raised the Buckeye State’s tax on online sports betting revenue in 2023 from 10% to 20%. Proposals to raise internet sports book rates are circulating in Illinois, New Jersey, and Washington, DC.

An analysis conducted by financial services website LendingTree revealed recently that legal sports betting in the 38 states and the District of Columbia last year generated tax revenue of almost $2.5 billion.

New York benefited the most, with the state collecting about $876 million from its online and retail sportsbooks. New York taxes online sportsbook revenue at 51%, as Keenan had proposed in neighboring Massachusetts.

The post Effort to Increase Massachusetts Online Sportsbook Tax Fails appeared first on Casino.org.

House Bill 7500 was introduced in February. The statute would repeal the indoor smoking provisions provided to Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton through the state’s Public Health and Workplace Safety Act passed in 2004.

Bally’s reps argued a smoking ban would hurt their operations and, subsequently, the state by reducing gaming income. The Bally’s casinos run slot-like video lottery terminals (VLTs) on behalf of the Rhode Island Lottery. The state receives about 60% of the VLT revenue.

Casino Smoking Bills Mothballed

The House Finance Committee, despite being controlled by Democrats 13-2, decided to hold HB 7500 instead of voting to move it to the full House floor. The committee “recommended the measure be held for further study.”

There’s since been no action on the bill. The Senate version of HB 7500, Senate Bill 2368, has also been shelved. Senate Finance Committee members motioned to hold the bill for further review, too.

Rhode Island’s two casinos can designate as much of their gaming floors for smoking as they wish. However, nonsmoking sections are to be “physically separated” from smoking areas and equipped with separate ventilation systems.

Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Vice President Craig Sculo told the House Finance Committee that smoking bans aren’t good for a casino’s business. Sculo said the Bally’s casinos offer employees options to work in smoke-free areas and just this month added a second nonsmoking gaming space at the Lincoln resort that complements the smoke-free second-floor casino.

Lawmakers behind the push to extinguish smoking say secondhand smoke doesn’t abide by smoking section rules and permeates much of the workplace.

Imagine what it’s like, night after night, going home with cigarette smell in your hair, having to shower before you even got into bed,” said state Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D-South Kingstown), a former smoker and lead sponsor of HB 7500. “Every single night, throwing your clothes in the laundry every single night because of the stench of smoking.”

Tanzi doesn’t buy what Bally’s is selling in claiming a smoking ban would hurt business. She said many restaurants and bars argued the same before the state’s 2004 smoking law went into effect.

“The sky has not fallen, and we are all better off as a result,” Tanzi said. “I’m optimistic this would make things better for casino workers and the bottom line of the state budget.”

Time Ticking

As the casino smoking bills linger in the Providence capital, the 2024 legislative session for the Rhode Island General Assembly moves toward its end. The legislature is set to adjourn on June 30.

The results of the vote haven’t yet been made public. If at least 5% of the shares voted in favor of the study, the matter can be raised again during the company’s 2025 annual meeting.

The post Bill to Outlaw Casino Smoking in Rhode Island Faces Long Odds appeared first on Casino.org.

Bally’s operates Rhode Island’s two commercial casino resorts. Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton operate slot-like video lottery terminals (VLTs) on behalf of the Rhode Island Lottery. The properties also include live dealer table games and sports betting.

Rhode Island’s gaming law currently limits the state’s authorized video lottery retailer, Bally’s, to issue up to $50K in gaming credit to a gambler. Bally’s is requesting to double the credit cap to $100K.

A spokesperson for the powerful lawmaker said the bill’s tardy introduction was permitted because keeping the two Bally’s casinos competitive against competition in neighboring Connecticut and Massachusetts is vital to the state’s financial interests. The state collects about 60% of the VLT revenue, roughly 18% of the table win, and 51% of the gross sportsbook win.?

Credit Explained

Casinos extend credit lines to high rollers and VIPs to circumvent their necessity to carry large amounts of cash. Commonly called “markers,” the credit lines are typically required to be repaid to the casino within 15 to 45 days with a post-dated check.

Unless the player is known to the casino, a gambler seeking a credit line could see their credit score impacted. Casinos typically require a person to authorize a credit check before receiving a marker, something that could damage the individual’s credit score. The Bally’s Corp.’s credit rating was recently hit with a slew of downgrades.?

It’s no surprise that high rollers are the most coveted guests in a casino. While whales account for only a small fraction of a casino’s overall floor traffic, they are thought to generate upwards of half of the industry’s gross gaming revenue.

No Credit Limits in Massachusetts, Connecticut

When Massachusetts lawmakers passed the state’s Expanded Gaming Act in 2011, they opted not to cap the amount of credit a casino can extend. Since Connecticut’s two casinos are tribally owned and operated on sovereign land, they too are free to determine how much credit they want to issue.

A Bally’s spokesperson told a Senate Committee considering Ruggerio’s bill that the credit elevation would apply only to a “very limited number of players.” She said the increase would allow the casinos to better compete with Massachusetts and Connecticut where high rollers are extended more credit.

We want to make sure that as the operator of the two casinos for the state of Rhode Island, we’re doing everything that we can to be regionally competitive,” the Bally’s official testified. “By that, I mean competitive with those casinos that are in Connecticut, which are some of the largest casinos in the United States, and Massachusetts.”

The Senate Committee on Special Legislation recommended that a further study be completed before voting on the statute.

The post Bally’s Asks Rhode Island Officials for Higher Casino Credit Limits appeared first on Casino.org.

The state legislature earlier this year approved a statute to allow small businesses to turn back on their thousands of skill-gaming terminals that were powered down last fall after the Virginia Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s ruling on the controversial machines.

Lawmakers refused to sign off on Youngkin’s conditions, which returned the measure to the governor’s desk. As expected, the Republican vetoed the bill. The Assembly doesn’t have the necessary two-thirds majority support to override the governor.

Governor Explains Veto

Commonly branded Queen of Virginia in the commonwealth, skill games function similarly to a casino slot machine but differ slightly in that they require a player to identify a winning payline. The skill component, supporters of the machines that are heavily opposed by the state’s highly regulated and taxed casino industry, render the machines immune from Virginia’s gambling laws.

Youngkin reasoned that further expansion of gaming in the commonwealth, which in recent years has included the authorization of brick-and-mortar commercial casinos, HHR gaming, and retail and online sports betting, must be carefully deliberated and come with many consumer protections that were absent in SB 212.

When it comes to additional gaming options, such as games of skill, we must proceed with a robust set of safeguards,” Youngkin explained. “I sent over a package of amendments which addressed my many concerns with the bill. While it is regrettable that my recommendations were not adopted, I remain open to working with the General Assembly going forward on this subject.”

Many lawmakers said Youngkin’s skill-gaming bill amendments essentially resulted in a near-ban, as the church and school provision would have limited the machines to only rural parts of the state. ?

Small Businesses Lose

Though controversial, there’s no denying that Virginia skill-gaming machines have helped thousands of small businesses across the commonwealth. The revenue generated by the machines is typically split between the host business and gaming manufacturer and distributor.

Sen. Aaron Rouse (D-Virginia Beach), who sponsored SB 212, says he’ll propose to the legislature a new skill-gaming bill during the Assembly’s special session that began last week. Though disappointed in Youngkin’s veto, Rouse acknowledged the governor’s “good faith effort” to possibly find a compromise.

Del. Terry Kilgore (R-Scott) is also optimistic that a resolution can be reached.

“We and the governor are going to attempt to come up with a solution to help our small business owners,” Kilgore said.

The post Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Vetoes Skill-Gaming Bill on Lack of Regulatory Safeguards appeared first on Casino.org.

On Wednesday, the Maryland Board of Public Works voted to approve the plan, which will involve a complete rebuild of the track.

The state will run the track as a nonprofit while paying Stronach millions for the right to use the Preakness Stakes name and to run the famous race.

Consolidating Racing

Last week, Maryland’s Democratic Governor Wes Moore signed a bill approving $400 million in state bonds to pay for the renovations.

The Preakness will still run at Pimlico this coming Saturday (May 18) and next year, but it will move to Laurel Park in 2026 while the track is rebuilt. It will return to the new-look Pimlico – it is hoped – in 2027.

Laurel Park, which is also owned by the Stronach Group, will be permanently closed after 110 years of racing once the renovations to Pimlico are complete, per the agreement.

The Preakness is culturally important to Marylanders. First run in 1873 – beating the Kentucky Derby by two years – it is second only to the Derby for attendance. Maryland law prohibits the Preakness from leaving the state.

“With this agreement, we are making Pimlico the year-round home of thoroughbred racing in the state of Maryland,” Gov. Moore said Wednesday. “By consolidating thoroughbred racing at one track, Pimlico will become a reliable hub of economic activity, rather than only being in the spotlight for a few days of the year.”

New-Look Pimlico

The rebuild will create a smaller 5,000-seat grandstand, which will double as an event space and be open to the local community all year round, according to local NBC affiliate WBAL-TV. There will be a new sportsbook, a hotel with views of the track, and a 2,000-space parking garage.

Any operating losses will be covered by a fund derived from lottery proceeds. Meanwhile, 10% of track profits will go to local Park Heights community development projects.

“This truly is an historic moment,” said Alan Foreman, president and CEO of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, told WBAL-TV. “[With] the not-for-profit model, we are consolidating, reducing expenses, reimagining the future.”

The post Maryland to Buy Historic Pimlico Race Course for $1 appeared first on Casino.org.

Live greyhound racing has been illegal in New Hampshire since 2009, but the new law puts an end to all betting on greyhounds for good.

In the ensuing years, the Brook has transformed itself into a flourishing casino, offering charitable gaming via sports betting and historical horse racing machines (HHRs). Greyhound simulcasting is no longer a crucial part of its business model.

Connecticut Bans Live Racing

The move comes a week after Connecticut’s Democratic Governor Ned Lamont signed a bill to ban live dog racing. His is the 43rd state to outlaw the sport.

“Dog racing is a cruel activity and it has no place in Connecticut,” Governor Lamont said in a statement. “It’s mindboggling to think that at one time people considered this a legitimate sport, and I give credit to animal advocacy groups for their activism that has raised awareness about the abuse and extreme conditions these dogs face, leading to bans in nearly every state across the country. Signing this bill is an easy decision.”

‘Walls Closing In’

The move represents another nail in the coffin for a dwindling sport in the US. Live dog racing is now confined to?just?two venues, Wheeling Island Casino & Racetrack and Mardi Gras Casino & Resort, both in West Virginia.

Arkansas’ last track, Southland, pulled the plug at the end of 2022.

“The walls are closing in on greyhound racing in the United States,” Carey Theil, executive director of GREY2K USA Worldwide, an advocacy group for greyhound protection, told Casino.org. “Betting on American dog races is down by a whopping 47% since 2019, and one state after another is severing ties with this cruel industry.”

The post New Hampshire Bans Greyhound Simulcasts appeared first on Casino.org.

In her race to capture the Republican nomination for the Texas House District 97 seat, she recently told CBS News in Texas, “I’m not a fan of gambling.”

One of her objections is that with casinos, the jobs created lead to more union activity. The jobs may be filled by illegal migrants coming across the border, she said. “It gives them a pathway to citizenship,” Bean added about the migrants.

Beyond that, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, also a Republican, is opposed to gambling legislation. He’s said it won’t pass as long as he stays in office and dominates the state Senate. Patrick has endorsed Bean in the primary.

Waste of Money

“It’s a moot point and a waste of taxpayer money to go down that path,” Bean said about casino resort proposals.

Also, gambling is currently available in nearby states with travel times of just two or three hours from anywhere in Texas.

“That’s fine with me,” Bean said.

Bean will face John McQueeney in the May 28 Republican primary. Another key issue in the race is border security.

The House seat is currently held by state Rep. Craig Goldman, a Republican who is seeking to get elected to Congress.

Gambling Proposals

As it now stands, Class III (commercial casino) gambling is prohibited in Texas. So too are online sports gambling and in-person sports gambling at sportsbooks.

In March, Las Vegas Sands filed a new petition to bring casino gaming to Texas. Many lobbyists have been working on the issue in the state and new legislative proposals are likely in upcoming sessions.

Expanded gaming is in Texas’ future, the only question is when, University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus recently told Casino.org. He explained that casino gaming is a big change and will take a few legislative sessions to pass.

The post Texas House Candidate Opposes Casino Gambling appeared first on Casino.org.

History has repeated itself in nearly every legislative session in the Montgomery capital since 1999 when Alabamans rejected a statewide ballot referendum to authorize a lottery by a vote of 54%-46%. Over the past 25 years, lawmakers have repeatedly introduced legislation to expand gaming in the Cottom State to no avail.

A similar outcome came last week when a gaming package compromise reached by a conference committee was a vote shy of the needed three-fifths majority in the upper chamber.

Had the Senate approved the compromise as the House did, voters would have had the final say in August during a special election.

Gov. Ivey Expresses Frustration

The Alabama House of Delegates quickly passed the gaming compromise after receiving it earlier this month. The package then stalled upon receipt in the Senate.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R), a staunch supporter of gaming expansion, and most specifically, a lottery, said after Thursday’s legislative end that she wouldn’t call a special session to continue the gaming conversation.

Why would I do that?” Ivey asked. “They cannot come to a consensus among themselves. Why would I spend the time, effort, and money on a special session? Every year, it’s always wait until next year. I think people are tired of waiting.”

State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) was a surprising “no” vote after sponsoring gaming bills in the Senate and serving on the six-member conference committee. Albritton said he was overruled in the committee and believed the compromise the majority in the committee reached would have hurt the Poarch Creek Indians by allowing slots at racetracks, and not allowing the tribe to pursue a fourth casino in the northeastern part of the state as he proposed.

Harsh Words

Albritton’s vote faced an abundance of backlash from House supporters. Rep. Thomas Jackson (D-Thomasville) said Albritton’s vote means Alabama will continue to subsidize education and other services that the lotteries in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee support.

We are hypocrites, that is what we are,” Jackson declared.

Rep. Chris Blackshear (R-Smiths Station) opined that Albritton and other state Senators who voted “no” are playing politics and think opposing gaming is a smart bet for their reelection bids.

It frustrates me,” said Blackshear. “The voters are not as ignorant as they think they are.”

While Alabama is a deeply conservative state in the so-called “Bible Belt,” polling in recent years has shown changing attitudes among the electorate for a lottery and possible casino gaming and sports betting. A survey conducted by Alabama Daily News in February found that 71% of likely voters “strongly” or “somewhat” support additional forms of gambling. ?

The post Alabama Gaming Expansion Compromise Dead by a Single Vote, Gov. Ivey Upset appeared first on Casino.org.

The push comes after a previous bill sponsored by Addabbo, which would have legalized online casino gaming and online poker, failed to gain enough support and was excluded from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) budget in January.

That said, previous standalone online poker bills haven’t fared very well either. Addabbo or his committee chairman predecessor, now-retired State Senator John Bonacic, have been trying to legalize the online game almost every year since 2014.

Historically, these bills have fared well in the Senate but have come up short in the Assembly, where they have been championed each year by Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-89th).

Tax Halved

Addabbo’s bill would create as many as 10 online poker licenses, charging operators $10 million each. Revenues would be taxed at 15%, half the figure proposed by his online casino and poker bill.

The legislation would task the New York Gaming Commission to come up with the fine details and draw up a framework of regulation for the proposed future market.

Instead, the bill focuses on the justification for defining online poker as a game of skill. Addabbo notes that a New York federal court has ruled that poker is predominantly a skill game.

Meanwhile, state courts have interpreted New York law to apply a more rigorous test in identifying a contest of chance that is applied by most states in the nation, Addabbo asserts.

“As the internet has become an integral part of society, and internet poker a major form of entertainment for many consumers … regulatory oversight [is needed] to safeguard the integrity of the games and participants and to ensure public trust,” he writes.

Late to Party

The advantage of the legislature classifying online poker as a “nongambling” game of skill is that the bill would theoretically not need to be approved by a public vote, since gambling expansion requires an amendment to the constitution.

Addabbo’s bill is a latecomer to the state’s legislative session, which will recess June 6, although as a legislative leader, Addabbo could recall lawmakers for an extraordinary session.

The post New York Bill Says Online Poker is a Skill Game appeared first on Casino.org.

The Alabama Senate and House of Delegates had significantly different opinions on how the state should go about authorizing new forms of gambling during the legislative session this year.

The House proposed up to six commercial casinos and four tribal casinos with slot machines, table games, and sports betting. The House bill also recommended the creation of a state-run lottery.

A conference committee last week recommended that a compromise be passed.

The proposal from the six-member panel endorsed three tribal casinos with slots and table games. Up to seven racinos would be allowed only electronic gaming machines but not live dealer tables. Sports betting would remain on the sidelines for both the racinos and tribal casinos. A lottery creation remained.

DJT Jr. Comments

The House of Delegates subsequently ratified the conference committee’s recommendations but the Senate fell a vote shy of the three-fifths majority needed to initiate the referendum. The Alabama Constitution currently prohibits such gambling, meaning voters must amend the state’s fundamental principles to allow the Legislature to legalize new forms of gambling.

Trump Jr. thinks it’s time state lawmakers in Montgomery step aside to allow voters to have the final say on the gaming discussions.

I’m excited to be in Alabama next week for a fundraiser for my dad, but whenever I ask anyone from there what’s going on in the state, this is all they talk about,” Trump Jr. said about the ongoing gaming and lottery talks. “Why is their Senate refusing to let the people vote on a clean bill to legalize the lottery and fund education when 45 states already do it?”

Trump Jr. asked why Alabama lawmakers wouldn’t rather keep the “billions of $$$ in Alabama instead of sending it to other states? Makes no sense to me!”

Gov. Kay Ivey (R) agrees. She recently voiced her opinion that “it’s time for voters of Alabama to have their say.”

Surprising Holdout?

State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) has long advocated for legal casino gambling and a lottery. He served on the gaming conference committee but was among the 15 “no” votes in the Senate that stalled the gaming package by a single vote in the upper chamber.

Albritton said the exclusion of a commercial casino for the state’s lone federally recognized tribe prompted his “no” vote.

The post Donald Trump Jr. Shines Light on Alabama Gaming Expansion Deadlock appeared first on Casino.org.

Yes, that billboard truck pulling up alongside your car on the Las Vegas Strip reads, “Girls Direct to You!” And yes, those dudes on the corner are handing out cards featuring photos of scantily clad women and a phone number to call.

But no, prostitution isn’t legal in Las Vegas.

Prostitution has been unofficially illegal in Las Vegas since its red-light districts were shut down in the ’40s and ’50s. Officially, prostitution in Clark County (Vegas, basically) was outlawed by the Nevada legislature in 1971. Nonbrothel prostitution, such as streetwalking and the outcall services implied by the billboard trucks, has been against the law everywhere in the state since 1987.

A number of people believe Las Vegas allows prostitution because it seems to be happening openly,” Michael Green, associate professor of history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas told Casino.org. “It’s also something that people tend to think would be logical in Las Vegas. Anything goes here. So why not prostitution?”

A national headline last week illustrates pop culture’s role in perpetuating this myth. “Vegas Sex Worker Offering VIP Deal to Raiders,” claimed TMZ. The sex worker who made the offer, Arial Ganja, works at the Chicken Ranch in Nye County, an hour’s drive west of the Strip, which explains why she threw in a free limo ride as part of her deal.

What About the Billboard Trucks and Hooker Cards?

It’s perfectly legal for an escort to accept money to come to a stranger’s hotel room for a reason that’s unspecified. It’s also legal to advertise this service. In fact, it used to take up more than 100 pages of the telephone directory.

What a paid escort chooses to do once they get to your room may be legal or illegal. But it’s nothing the police can do anything about if no one calls them,” Green said.

If you happen across an actual brothel in Las Vegas, be assured that it’s neither legal nor a place you want to find yourself. In August 2022, two people were arrested and charged with running just such a brothel near the Las Vegas Strip. Close to 200 men had been observed by police entering their house in a residential neighborhood and exiting after less than an hour.

Brothels like this one, which advertised its services on Craigslist, are more likely to be associated with sex trafficking, kidnapping, drug dealing, and other unsafe crimes simply because the operation is, by definition, a criminal one.

Nevada’s Complicated Relationship with Hookers

In the 19th century, Nevada’s main draw wasn’t gambling or Cirque du Soleil, but gold and silver mines. The influx of diggers hoping to strike it rich resulted in three men for each woman. Brothels offered the illusion of evening up that number. Early in the 20th century, every other state in the union passed laws prohibiting businesses that force women and girls into prostitution.

But Nevada, where brothels were more culturally entrenched, did something unusual. It left the matter up to its counties and cities to decide.

“This reflects Nevada’s sometimes misbegotten libertarianism — live and let live,” Green said. “Its leaders decided to allow what other states would not. For example, in 1897, only Nevada would allow prizefighting, and both gambling and prostitution went merrily on.”

Finally, in the 1970s, some Nevada counties with long-regulated prostitution began officially legalizing brothels. Storey County was the first, sanctioning Joe Conforte’s Mustang Ranch in 1971.

Currently, 20 legal brothels operate in the 10 Nevada counties that allow them, according to the Nevada Brothel List site. That’s down from a peak of 35 brothels in the early ‘80s.

Vegas-Adjacent Prostitution

In addition to the Chicken Ranch, Sheri’s Ranch is also located an hour’s drive from the Strip in Nye County. Nye’s only other currently operating legal brothel, the Alien Cathouse, is 90 minutes northwest in Amargosa Valley.

The sex workers at Nevada’s legal brothels operate like independent contractors renting out space at hair salons or day spas. They pay licensing fees to the state and taxes on their income. Sex workers also pay for their own weekly STD tests and sex worker registration cards, which vary in price by county.

They get to negotiate their prices with clients, usually somewhere between $100-$1,000 per “menu” item, and they’re expected to kick half back to the brothel to cover rent, food, utilities, and other operating costs.

Why is Prostitution Illegal in Las Vegas?

That’s a funny question to ask, isn’t it? No one ever asks why brothels are illegal in Detroit or Wichita.

Fresh from his victory in Storey County, Joe Conforte ran smack into a wall he didn’t expect to hit when he tried securing a license to open a brothel in Clark County in 1971. Instead of getting a license, Conforte got prostitution outlawed. His request triggered county officials to convince state legislators to remove the choice of legal brothels from any county with more than 200K residents. (Back then, this meant Clark County.) Now, the law specifies 700K. Again, Clark County, but now also Washoe County, where Reno is located.

At the time of the 1971 prostitution law, the state had just instituted the Corporate Gaming Act to try to attract publicly traded companies and rid itself of organized crime,” Green said. “And, as the famous Las Vegan Andre Agassi once said, image is everything. But I think, on social issues, Las Vegas has become less libertarian with population growth.”

“We are much more conservative than most people realize.”

Click here to read about Block 16, Las Vegas’ only official red-light district. Look for “Vegas Myths Busted” every Friday on Casino.org.?Click here?to read previously busted Vegas myths. Got a suggestion for a Vegas myth that needs busting? Email [email protected].

The post VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: Prostitution is Legal in Las Vegas appeared first on Casino.org.