Massachusetts and Slots- Part 3
Then there is the issue of unemployment. One of the biggest problem the recession created for the nation was the huge unemployment rate. Most states experienced rates well over 10% and they are still hovering high. Without job creation, people aren’t making money. Without money, people can’t spend. Without spending, the economy has little, to no, ability to repair itself. The government knows it needs to focus on job creation and is currently offering various tax initiatives to small businesses to create jobs. For example, just three Detroit-area casinos employ over 8,000 people. That is great news for the city because its unemployment rate is at a staggering 29%. Gambling revenues are down by about 2% but that still brought in over $120 million to the state.
Slot machines were instrumental to the economy throughout the recession. In Pennsylvania, taxpayers benefited by saving over $786 million on the property tax and wage tax fees. Slot machine taxes paid that huge chunk and without it, people would have had to stretch their budgets even further to manage.
Getting back to Massachusetts, legislators are looking to mirror the successes other states have had with slot machine gambling. The only thing left on the table other than legalization is regulation. Exactly what percentage would the state be privy to? If you look at neighboring states, there are various calculations that dictate how much the state can bring in. For example, in Connecticut the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casino give either 25% or $80 million, whichever is greater, to the state from its slots revenues. That total for 2008 was about $395 million dollars. The first proposal in 2007 was for the state of Massachusetts to take 27% of all gross casino revenue or $100 million, whichever was greater.
Massachusetts is hoping its planning brings the same amount of revenue and helps to fund the state’s deficit and fund various programs. Analysts are cautioning that the state may not see such huge numbers in the near future, however. The Rockefeller report warns that “gambling revenue from existing operations tends to grow more slowly than state tax revenues.” The post-recession economy has slowed gambling revenue growth even more. The financial community is warning that slot machine revenue may help, but it is not necessarily a sure-fire hit for the state. Nor is it something that will happen overnight. People still have to get back into gambling, after all, for it to work at all.
Part four coming next.
Tags: legal, Massachusetts, slots
