Gaming Control Board Chair Gregory Fajt presented the Board's annual budget request to the House Appropriations Committee today, noting funds for the Gaming Board come from assessments on the gaming industry, not general state tax monies.
Fajt said the Board's $36.4 million budget is an 8 percent increase over last year, but the increase was required due to contract-mandated employee salary and benefits increases. He also said the Board has reduced its budget by 7.3 percent as a result of a cut in professional services and background investigations already completed for table games were not included in this year's budget.
He noted gaming generated $4.7 billion in tax revenue; $405 million in goods and services were purchased from other local businesses in 2010; $2.8 billion in property tax and wage tax relief; $796 million was provided to the Pennsylvania horse racing industry, mainly for increase racing purses; $365 million funded tourism development; $440 million were provided to host counties; and 14,232 jobs, 86 percent of whom live in Pennsylvania with about 26 percent from minority groups.
Slots vs. Table Games: Table games have had a positive impacts on slots revenue, according to Fajt. Table games start ups have driven more people into the casinos, some of whom play slots and others who play the table games. Slots revenue has increased every month, but in February due to adverse weather conditions, since table games have been introduced.
Whether the revenue for table games will meet the projections for this year's budget is still problematic, he said, but as each month goes by more revenue comes in.
Fajt said Pennsylvania receives more revenue from gaming than does Las Vegas as a result of a higher tax rate imposed by the state.
Horsemen's Fund: Rep. Millard (R-Columbia) requested the Board to provide details on the support it has given to retirement funds for employees of the horse racing industry as required by law.
Lottery Fund Impact: Fajt said they have not seen a negative impact on state Lottery Sales from slots or table games, pointing to a special report last year by the Lottery and more recent information, but the issue bears watching closely. He noted the General Assembly required casino owners to put lottery machines in their facilities and they generated about $5 million in sales last year.
Philadelphia Casino: While saying he could not comment specifically on matters before the Gaming Board, Chairman Fajt said he did not interpret the gaming law to require the Board to issue a second casino license in the City of Philadelphia.
