Pennsylvania Senator unveils bill that involves gambling revenue

The bill is set to help reduce property taxes by using revenue from expanded gambling.

US.- Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill unveiled on Thursday Senate Bill 269, which would direct all new revenue generated from the expansion of gaming in Pennsylvania into the Property Tax Relief Fund and decrease tax bills for homeowners.

Phillips-Hill said that when casino gambling was legalised in the state in 2004 there was a promise that homeowners would see a decrease in their property tax bills: “One of the promises that was made was that gaming was to relieve or potentially eliminate our local property taxes, and nothing could be further from the truth.”

While the state’s original estimations included US$1 billion in annual revenue from slot machines, the Senator said that the actual figure hasn’t even been close. Kevin O’Toole, with the Gaming Control Board, explained that slot machine revenue at the 12 operating casinos is “more than holding its own against competition from surrounding jurisdictions.”

Slot machine revenue recorded its peak in the last five years in 2018, and a gaming expansion could be introduced to iGmaming, specifically interactive slot machines that would be taxed at the same rate as regular slot machines. “So, there is a component of expanded gambling that will directly benefit property tax relief,” said O’Toole.