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Casino revenues rise despite harsh winter
YOUNGSTOWN
Despite the harsh winter, casino-tax revenues to Ohio’s 88 counties and eight major cities, including Youngstown, have risen in the first quarter of this year, according to Ohio Department of Taxation figures.
In the quarterly distribution reflecting gambling activity during the first three months of this year, Youngstown and Mahoning County are each getting $352,854, compared with $329,026 in January.
In the current distribution, which was announced April 6, Trumbull County is getting $620,889, compared with $580,879 in January.
Columbiana County is now getting $319,821, compared with $297,958 in January.
Last year, the quarterly distributions rose through October, but fell for the final quarter of the year.
The monies come from a 33 percent tax on gross revenues, which is paid by the casinos in Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati.
Jessica Franks, communications director for the Ohio Casino Control Commission, which regulates the four casinos, said the drop at the end of last year might have been due to competition from the state’s seven racinos.
The last of those racinos, Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Austintown, opened its casino Sept. 17 and began horse racing Nov. 24.
Franks said it’s still too early to reach any conclusions about long-term trends.
“The market continues to evolve here in the state of Ohio,” Franks said, noting that three of the state’s racinos opened last year.
“It’s going to take a full year or more of all 11 facilities being open in order to really be able to start to see some trends,” she said.
“I think there’s extensive competition from the racinos, and they will definitely cut into the casino revenue in the long term,” predicted Adrian Biviano, Trumbull County auditor.
Mahoning County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti surmised that gambling declined in the fall and early winter because of gamblers’ Christmas gift expenses and then increased in February and March after the gamblers paid off their Christmas-related bills.
After paying off those bills, “Some people have extra cash now, so they’re going to the racinos and the casinos, and they’re gambling a little more,” Righetti said.
“It gives them something to get out of the house for” during winter, Biviano said of the gambling opportunities.
Righetti and Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda observed that the downtown Cleveland casino enjoys the year-round advantage of being interconnected with the indoor Tower City shopping and dining complex.
Righetti said she expects gambling revenues will continue to improve in the warmer months of this year.
But Fuda observed that, in the warmer months, parents tend to follow their children to summer youth outdoor activities, such as baseball.
“A lot more people are spending time outside,” as the weather improves, Fuda said. “It takes away from their casino time,” he added.
In a memorandum it issued last fall, the Ohio Office of Management and Budget urged caution in making assumptions about casino tax revenues.
“The Ohio casino tax is a new revenue source that is still subject to considerable uncertainty,” OMB said.
“Competition for gambling dollars is increasing, both within and without the state; and there is evidence across the nation that overall gambling may be approaching saturation levels,” the memo observed.
“In light of all this evidence, local governments and school districts should budget casino revenues very conservatively and not be surprised when performance does not match forecasts,” OMB warned.
Schools districts receive casino-tax revenue distributions in January and August.