With Issuance of Licenses, Slot Machines Take Over PA

It seems that with the slot machine licenses finally getting issued in Pennsylvania, that casinos are everywhere you look. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing for the government, for they have already taken in millions of dollars in taxes from the slot machines. Just two months after opening, the state’s first two slot machine parlors have announced that gamblers have wagered over $97 million on the slot machines.

With eleven new slot machine parlor licenses issued last month, PA is now officially becoming a gambling state. The state is not initially considering any large slot machine casinos, such as those in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, but it isn’t something they have entirely ruled out either. They are also considering adding table games to the slot machines. They are constantly looking at ways of increasing revenue in the state, and slot machines and table games fit the bill.

The state is taxing the casinos 54% on their slot machine revenue, which will allow them to give property tax relief for many. In Philadelphia, the slot machine revenue will allow the city to cut the wage tax for those who work within the city itself. With an estimated $2 billion a year coming in from slot machines – the city could be looking at a 13% cut in the wage tax.

But for everyone who is happy about the slot machines, there are those that aren’t. Groups such as Casino-Free Philadelphia say that Philly has enough problems without bringing slot machines into it. They say the negative impact that the slot machines will have on their neighborhoods is more than enough of a reason not to allow them to come in.

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