Pennsylvania to consider video slots
Posted by Carl Barnett on 10 Mar 2010 at 11:03
The sixth annual Pennsylvania Gaming Congress discussed a new way of offering gambling activity that could be in place at Pennsylvania casinos soon.
Video lottery terminals, placed in Pennsylvania’s bars, would offer a brand new gaming experience for residents, as well as added revenue for the state.
The state auditor general, Jack Wagner, noted that the idea of offering video slot machines had been one that had been bobbing to the surface in Pennsylvania’s General Assembly for a number of years.
During the Congress, he stated: ‘There cannot be VLTs (video lottery terminals) in every neighbourhood in the commonwealth.’
A representative in the Congress, W. Curtis Thomas, added: ‘Let’s just stop. We can’t get caught up in this bloated idea, bloated expansion, that gambling is a cure-all.’
Casino operators in the state view VLTs as direct competition to the offering they have, following the idea that people who use video slots will not venture out to a casino.
The video slot machines planned for bars would be totally controlled by the state, which shows that the state is considering its options as regards using gambling revenue for tax income.
Other states are also considering regulation of online casino sites as a source of added revenue.
