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APRIL 5, 2011 | Compilation by ANTONY DAVIES, LAURA VICINIE, JONATHAN SCOTT, KAIT WOLF, LAUREN MONDSCHEIN, DEVIN BOWEN, NATHAN BENEFIELD
Public Policy and Free Enterprise in Pennsylvania
A Compilation
Public Policy and Free Enterprise in Pennsylvania represents a partnership with the Commonwealth Foundation and the department of economics at Duquesne University. Key findings in these five papers include Over the past sixty years, increases in union membership rates correlate with slower growth in real per
JULY 9, 2009 | Commentary by NATALIE ROGOL
Pennsylvania’s Gambling Addiction
Five years ago this month, Gov. Rendell signed into law the signature policy achievement of his tenure -- legalized slot machine gambling. Act 71 of 2004 allows for 61,000 slot machines in 14 casinos throughout Pennsylvania. The governor promised many benefits from gambling revenue, the most appealing of which was a predicted $1 billion in prope
MARCH 22, 2004 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE
A Solution to the Gambling License Giveaway
It's déjà vu all over again. As Governor Rendell continues lobbying the General Assembly to expand gambling, very little attention is paid to the potential giveaway of valuable slot machine licenses to a small group of wealthy and politically connected people. By failing to auction these limited gambling licenses to the highest res
Recent Blog Posts
JUNE 1, 2011
Have Casinos Hurt Lottery Sales?
According to a new report from the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, the presence of casinos does not have a negative impact on state lottery revenues. At the same time, lottery growth has stagnated, and counties with casinos have seen a greater decline in lottery sales relative to other counties.
The report concluded that while the growth in lottery sales has diminished in recent years, most of this decrease can be attributed to other factors such as a slowdown in new lottery retailers and a dearth of new games being introduced to the lottery system.
Lottery sales have slowed most prominently in counties hosting casinos and those adjacent to them. It may be that other factors such as geographic location, population density, and a stagnant economy are to blame.
The state spends about $37 million annually for lottery advertising.
posted by MIKE MOCERI | 01:14 PM | 0 comment
JULY 2, 2010
Credit to be Offered at PA Casinos
Last week, the Gaming Control Board approved regulations for "casino credit." Now patrons can effectively take out a loan of credit to play table games and slots, with no legal cap established. The casinos are to have access to some of the applicant's financial information, such as bank accounts and credit information; and are also cross-checked against Central Credit, an international database. Applicants can be approved within hours, and can even apply ahead, so their credit is available for pick-up upon arrival at the casino. Casinos are responsible to collect the debt if patrons fail to pay back the credit.
Offering credit is supposed to attract high spending players, who often spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more, during their visit. In Atlantic City, one player walked away $10 million dollars poorer after using credit lines. However, some question Pennsylvania's ability to attract high rollers. Pennsylvania's casinos are not located very near each other, so players cannot easily switch venues. Also, Pennsylvania has a higher tax on table games (16%) than do Atlantic City and Las Vegas. This may hinder PA casinos' ability to offer free perks (i.e. airfare, limo rides) to attract high spenders.
The Morning Call has a pretty good article about the new casino credit. With, or without, casino credit, table games will not offer predictable tax revenue.
posted by NATALIE ROGOL | 08:56 AM | 0 comment
MARCH 26, 2010
Slots vs. Lottery
PA Independent summarizes a recent Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee report that concludes slot machine gambling has not undermined lottery sales.
I would question that conclusion, as the analysis notes that lottery revenue has stagnated since slots we introduced, following years of steady growth. (I would further hypothesize that slot has had a substitionary effect on other forms of entertainment in the area, such as movies).
I was suprised to see, however, how much more money is gambled on slots than on lottery tickets - about $25 billion to $3 billion. Of course, the house advantage is much higher on the lottery, so the net revenue of about $1 billion is about the same as what the state collects from slots (about 55% of the net losings from gamblers).
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 08:50 AM | 0 comment
