Cracking down on gaming?
COLUMBUS
Lawmakers should continue to consider limiting the use of promotional credits at casinos and consolidating control of other gaming options.
Those were the main conclusions of a panel created to study Ohio’s gambling environment to determine whether law or other policy changes are warranted.
A report released shortly before the end of the year didn’t include any big surprises for anyone who has been following hearings in recent months.
Sen. Bill Coley, chairman of the Permanent Joint Committee on Gaming and Wagering, has been vocal in his calls for limitations on promotional credits used by casinos and racinos to draw customers, saying the practice cuts into tax collections.
“Ohio casinos have enjoyed over $165 million in free promotional spend at the expense of schools and local government,” Coley said in a released statement. “We have concerns about whether the state can continue to justify this preferential treatment. While the committee does not call for immediate legislation, further consideration on this very generous deduction is certainly warranted.”
Here are a few of the facts and figures and recommendations offered by members of the joint committee:
Promotional credits: Since the first casino opened in Ohio in early 2012, more than $650 million in promotional credits have been redeemed at casinos and horse racing tracks offering video lottery terminals.
According to the joint committee, “The case remains to be made that tax-free promotional spend generates additional revenue. When Ohio schools and local governments bear the cost of these promotions in the form of reduced revenue, when Ohio taxpayers are called upon to make up for these lost dollars, it is the General Assembly’s duty to ensure that the pendulum has not swung too far toward the interests of private enterprise, particularly one already enjoying protection from competition by a constitutional amendment it authored.”
The report added, “At any gaming facility within the state, a dollar wagered is a dollar wagered – it should make no difference out of whose pocket that dollar originated. To that end, the General Assembly should consider legislation to tax promotional spend, in some form or fashion, to protect the interests of Ohio’s schools, local governments, and taxpayers.”
Other games: Members also reviewed Queen of Hearts and other games being played in Ohio. The former drew increased attention in 2015, when a Youngstown-area pub’s Queen of Hearts jackpot reached more than $1.8 million.
The game and others, the joint committee said, should be placed under the oversight of a single state agency.
According to the report, “Ohio has more agencies, with four, overseeing some aspect of the gaming industry than the average gaming state. ... Therefore, Ohio should consider consolidating its myriad agencies into a more unified system of oversight with a broad spectrum of authority to combat criminal activity and properly protect Ohio consumers.”
Lottery: Keno, the lottery game launched under Gov. Ted Strickland’s administration, “has shown consistent growth” since its inception, totaling nearly $330 million in sales during the last fiscal year.
Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.