Tax and child-support agencies take cut of racino winnings

AUSTINTOWN — If you win more than $1,200 at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, your name is run through a computer system while you fill out a tax withholding form.

That system at the Austintown facility brought in $81,789 for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services from Sept. 15, the VIP pre-opening event, to March 16. State tax debt of $55,316, also was collected at Hollywood Gaming. The federal tax rate is 25 percent for winnings of $1,200 or more while there is a 4 percent state tax on winnings of $600 or higher. Gambling losses are tax-deductible on the federal level but not on the state level.

All racinos, from Sept. 15, 2014, to Feb. 3, 2015, collected $455,475 for the state’s JFS department while bringing in $239,539 in state debt. Hollywood Gaming in Austintown was the last of the seven racinos to open.

The same program is in place at Ohio’s four casinos.

For the complete story, read Sunday's Vindicator and Vindy.com