Dave Reed, Jake Corman, and Joe Scarnati are key players in the last-minute gambling bill negotiations.
Gambling is a key piece of the Pennsylvania budget fix, but a contentious piece of the state’s budget. Tax-averse Republicans are seeking the taxless revenues, but lawmakers are clashing over how much gambling to approve.
This is the final week of the fiscal year for Pennsylvania’s budget makers. Republican Senate and House leaders negotiate behind closed doors, working on taxation and spending plans. With only a handful of days remaining, the various sides seek a final agreement, but without a serious obstacles in the way of a deal.
Debate on Pennsylvania Gambling Expansion
In the midst of the multi-billion dollar negotiation, gambling has emerged as a key factor. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf agreed with GOP lawmakers to include gambling expansion in the next budget, but a wide difference remains in how much gambling is enough.
At stake are issues like video lottery terminals (VLTs), online and mobile poker, daily fantasy sports, and Internet lottery sales.
The state’s brick-and-mortar casino and racino industries like some of the proposals, but are lobbying to kill the VLT clauses of the omnibus gambling bill.
Dave Reed Supports Video Lottery Terminals
Republican House Majority Leader Dave Reed is insisting on the inclusion of video lottery terminals, a type of electronic gaming machine quite similar to slot machines. VLTs, sometimes known as “video gambling terminals” or VGTs, would be approved for taverns, airports, and a variety of other locations. Rep. Reed claims the VLT clauses would help small businesses across the state.
House Majority Leader Reed pointed to a bill which passed the House three weeks ago, stating, “78 of our members and 102 House members voted (to pass) a gaming bill that included VGTs. We’ve been working on gaming for three years now, it was part of last year’s budget agreement, certainly the financial situation hasn’t gotten any better since last year and it’s an opportunity to not just add additional revenue, but actually help out some small businesses across the state, too.”
Jake Corman on VGT Legislation
Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, also a Republican, is not entirely sold on the idea. Sen. Corman said, “I still have concerns (about VLTs). But I have a lot of members in my caucus who are very big supporters of it, so I’m trying to work with them to see if there’s a way to navigate through the issues so that people who are not supportive can be comfortable.”
Corman was speaking about key Republicans like Sen. Rich Alloway of Franklin County and Sen. Guy Reschenthaler of Allegheny County, who are the most vocal VLT supporters in the Pennsylvania Senate. Speaking as if he is uncomfortable with the subject at all, Jake Corman said, “I don’t know that that’s possible, but between the House’s desire to have it and some of my members who want it, we’re at least trying.”
What’s at Stake with the VLT Bill?
Republicans balance a concern for social issues with sympathy for business owners. Gambling expansion always includes concerns for the social impact of such gaming. At the same time, gambling is big business, so certain members of the GOP want to help such businesses any way they can. Still, the issue is complicated, because land-based casino owners are major taxpayers and they do not want the competition from business fronts which would house VLTs.
Casinos and racinos house about 27,000 slot machines at the moment. The VLT bill would add as many as 40,000 more gaming machines, materially affecting the revenues of the casinos and racinos. Sands Bethlehem Resort and Casino, the largest gaming venue in the state, is running $1 million in ads calling for the VLT legislation to be eliminated from the Pennsylvania gambling bill.
Tom McGarrigle on Harrah’s Racino in Chester
Local interests are complicating matters. Sen. Tom McGarrigle, a Republican from Delaware County, is trying to protect his local gambling establishment, Harrah’s Racetrack-Casino in Chester. The Chester racetrack houses a slots rows, which is the key revenue generator for the gaming operation. Harrah’s, in turn, employs a lot of Delaware County residents and generates a lot of tax revenue for local governments.
To a legislator like Tom McGarrigle, the issue of VLT expansion is a local one, though he is critical of a last-minute push for such an important and far-ranging decision. Sen. McGarrigle said, “My concern is we’re trying to come up with gaming legislation in the five days before the budget’s due, and I just don’t think that trying to ram it down in the last five days is good.”
“When you look at a business that generates almost a third of (the city of) Chester’s budget, that’s a lot to jeopardize. I just need a lot more time than a week or two weeks to make a decision like that.”
Gambling Bill Negotiations End Friday
Friday is the deadline for the Republican majority to decide on the fate of the omnibus gambling bill. The Pennsylvania budget needs the revenues sooner rather than later, so it cannot be postponed to 2018. Some kind of gambling expansion bill is going to be signed into law in the near future. Whether it is an online and mobile poker bill only, or a massive expansion of the land-based gaming industry, is coming down to the wire.
