According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board report, Pennsylvania casinos recorded a 2.2% decrease in revenue in the latest 2016/2017 fiscal year, compared to last fiscal year, thus breaking a two-year streak of revenue gains. The Board’s report provides monthly revenue figures of all 12 casinos within the state and, according to the numbers, 10 of 12 casinos recorded a decrease in revenue. The total in this fiscal year is $2,336,152,508, which is less than last year’s total of $2,388,658,549.

However, the report only reflects slot machine revenue, while the tax revenue produced through table games is still to come. The final figures will be provided later this month. Even though PGCB bragged about the fact that in seven straight years they managed to generate more than $2.3b just on slots, the fact of the matter is that this figure is below the $2.5b peak recorded by the state in the fiscal 2011/2012.

Only three of 12 casinos in total managed to record year-on-year slots revenue gains in the just finished fiscal year, and none of them had gains that went over 4%. For example, Parx Casino in Philadelphia was down 0.45% to $386.6m. As for the Sands Bethlehem, it saw its slots revenue fall 0.39% to $304.1m. The slot-machine revenue in the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in North Strabane fell 3.6 percent to $217.9 million, and the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh was down 2.5 percent to $265.3 million in slot-machine revenue. The drop of the revenue was recorded in 10 of the last 12 months, but the reasons for such a state were never discussed.

It seems that state government is not that concerned with the current condition of land-based casinos, since they still hold the nation-high 54% tax on slots revenue. Over the last ten fiscal years, since the authorization of slots, the government got $12.1b from slot machines.

This situation could prove to be a perfect opportunity for online gambling, which could provide extra means for funding of the state’s annual spending plan. The land-based casinos’ biggest enemies at the time are thousands and thousands of video gaming terminals located in pubs, bars and clubs, waiting for the bills which will allow them to operate legally. Already the House and the Senate approved the blueprints for gambling expansion, due to the fact that slot machines cannot guarantee an increase in revenue every year.

The state legislators are looking for additional ways to boost their budget, which is why they are slowly turning to online gambling. Online gambling companies are more than prepared to provide additional income to the state, which will result in the legalization of online gambling. However, the plans could be derailed by the resistance in the Senate. President Joe Scarnati told the press that both sides are close to a compromise deal. We will have to wait for the final decision in the following days.

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After the Legislature failed to pass a budget, New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, shut down the state government, thus forcing the closure of tourist attractions, leaving around 35,000 state workers at home. This fact made the New Jersey officials look for alternative ways to ensure that casinos in Atlantic City remain open during the shutdown, because the closure would create an enormous loss of income.

Thanks to a law passed in 2008, Atlantic City casinos were allowed to remain open for seven days after a government shutdown, because New Jersey already faced a similar situation in the past. In the previous three years five of twelve casinos were shut down, which is why lawmakers and regulators are hoping to find a way to keep the casinos open, due to the fact that they are currently regaining momentum and the closure could be disastrous for them. For the first time in ten years, the casino market in Atlantic City posted its revenue income last year, but they could lose everything very quickly because of the current condition in the state government.

It seems that both sides of the government managed to reconcile their differences before the seven-day period ended, since a new bill, introduced by Senate President Steve Sweeney and Senators Jim Whelan and Jeff Van Drew, will allow casinos to remain open indefinitely. Whelan sponsored the original seven-day law in 2008, and now he is hoping that the new bill will further support casinos in their attempt to remain the driving force of the city’s and the region’s economy.

Since Atlantic City is finally turning around, Whelan is positive that a shutdown in casinos would have plenty of negative consequences for the lives of casino workers, their families, as well as for the economy of the city and the entire region. In 2010, Chris Christie signed an executive order, by which employees at the Casino Control Commission became essential. This made plenty of lawmakers question the necessity of such a bill, because the “essential” employees are not affected by the state shutdown.

According to Whelan and the Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, the S-3421 bill would come as a protection for all hard-working casino employees and the regional economy. More than 50,000 people work in the casino industry and they don’t want to experience the same faith as the workers from state facilities, including parks, historical sites and the Motor Vehicle Commission.

After a long period of hard and challenging times, the city is finally in the early stages of a comeback. It is a well-known fact that Atlantic City is the most important part of the tourism offer in New Jersey, and also a huge part of New Jersey’s economy. The aim of the bill is to secure casinos and regional economy in the event that such a situation occurs again in the future.

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After State Senate has passed the gambling bill proposed by Senator Bill Galvano, the Florida house considered and passed a different gambling bill than the one passed by the Senate.

Galvano introduced Senate Bill 8 which would allow more casino games and slot machines that would be included at dog and horse racetracks in eight counties. Galvano’s bill was well received in the Senate, as the majority of votes went in favour of passing the Senate Bill 8. Galvano is a fierce advocate of gambling expansion as according to him it is necessary to modernize state laws concerning gambling. As it was expected, the bill on gambling expansion in the state of Florida was not well received by the Seminole tribe whose situation would be compromised if the law allowed more gaming facilities. In response to that, Galvano proposed that craps and roulette could be added to Seminole Tribe Casinos.

However, Senate Bill 8 is not the only bill that deals with the topic of gambling in the state of Florida. Another gambling bill was proposed this week, this time by the House though HB7037. The sponsor of this bill is Representative Mike La Rosa, the chairman of House tourism and gaming subcommittee. His bill gives a completely different view on gambling than the Senate. In fact HB7037 argues against gambling expansion and adds that Seminole tribe could keep blackjack tables and slot machines for the next 20 years but without the addition of any new games. Furthermore the House suggests that the slot machines be limited to tribal casinos, while the tribe would have to pay $3 billion over the next seven years. This is one mutual point in the two opposing bills as Galvano’s Senate Bill 8 also proposes the same payment for Seminole tribe.

While Senate’s bill promises the addition of craps and roulette, it expands slots and blackjack throughout the state, which would terminate the monopoly tribe had over these games. On the other hand the House lets them keep the monopoly but does not allow expansion and still imposes payment. Seminole tribe is not happy with either of the proposed bills stating that both pieces of legislation are in contradiction to the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, being that the tribe does not get much for what they are supposed to pay. This is not a new issue for the state and the tribe as they have been trying to solve it since 2015.

Both Senator Galvano and Representative La Rosa, the sponsors of the two bills in question remain determined in their stances, while the final decision will be made on the annual session which is scheduled for May 5th.

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