Pennsylvania casino group says its activity wasn’t lobbying

HARRISBURG (AP) — A casino trade association headed by a former state Supreme Court chief justice rebutted a lawmaker’s criticism by saying that it doesn’t have to register under Pennsylvania’s lobbying-disclosure law because its activities don’t meet the legal definition of lobbying.

House Gaming Oversight Committee Chairman Dante Santoni, D-Berks, had posed questions about the Pennsylvania Casino Association and its activities surrounding a bill that would expand casino gambling. Santoni said Monday that he was still reading through the group’s Dec. 1 letter and was considering whether to call a hearing on the matter.

House and Senate negotiators are still trying to work out the remaining differences in a bill to legalize table games such as poker and blackjack at slot-machine casinos and to expand the number of slot machines at smaller resort casinos.

Proponents say expanding gambling is a less-painful alternative to raising taxes to shore up the state’s recession-ravaged treasury. Opponents, however, say the measure is a favor for the powerful gambling industry.

According to the casino association’s letter, it sent three e-mails to lawmakers about pending legislation and paid for a radio ad that warned that a state tax above 12 percent on table games would mean fewer jobs and higher taxes for state residents.

Including employee compensation, the e-mails cost less than $500 to send, well within the exemption for registering and reporting in the state’s lobbying disclosure law, association board member Richard Sprague wrote in the letter. The threshold is $2,500 per quarter.

The Pittsburgh-based casino association is chaired by former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stephen A. Zappala.

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