Alabama’s electronic bingo operators may have been too successful for their own good. For his first six years in office, Gov. Bob Riley (R) grudgingly tolerated their existence. During that time, what was mostly a score or more of small, storefront Class II gambling parlors grew into a significant gray-market industry.
Panama has a privileged geographical position. This factor was the reason for which the Panama Canal was built in the country more than 100 years ago, operated efficiently by 100 percent Panamanian labor. The Panama Canal, besides joining the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, reduces maritime routes and is currently under expansion with an investment of $5 billion (USD).
There have been casinos in Uruguay for more than a hundred years, and compared to its Latin American neighbors, where casino gaming has been a divisive and politically charged issue, casino gaming has been relatively uncontroversial. This is largely in part due to a rather unusual way of regulating casinos called the “mixed system.”
“Kentucky support grows for slot machines,” read the headline in the Feb. 3, 2010, edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal. In order to understand the barriers to expanded gaming legislation in Kentucky, we must look at Kentucky’s constitutional and legislative history.
A recent report on the Italian gaming market, “L’ Italia in Gioco,” from the Italian research institute Eurispes, indicates that there are about 90,000 video lottery terminals (VLTs) presently active in the world, accounting for 4 percent of all of the world’s gaming machines. VLTs are mainly located in the United States, with 22,200 in Montana, 21,200 in West Virginia, 14,000 in Louisiana and 13,000 in New York and Canada.
From the time Indiana joined the Union in 1816 until approximately 20 years ago, all forms of wagering were illegal in the state. There’s no doubt that Hoosier State racinos got a raw deal with the state. But does the state have an obligation to lower taxes and fees in light of struggling revenues?
The Northeast Megalopolis cuts a swath across the United States from Boston to Washington, D.C., and its 49 million residents represent 16 percent of the nation’s population; they’re also packed into less than 2 percent of the nation’s land area. The region, comprised of 18 metropolitan areas, generates about 25 percent of the country’s GDP and 26 percent of total personal income. In other words, it’s fertile territory for casino development.
Senate Bill 711 was first referred to the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee on June 22, 2009. After more than six months of hearings, debates, amendments and considerations, the 230-page legislation was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate and was signed into law by Gov. Edward G. Rendell on Jan. 7, 2010.
After four failed attempts, Ohio voters have finally approved casino gambling in the Buckeye State. On Nov. 3, 2009, the Ohio constitution was amended, ending a nearly two-decade campaign by several different pro-gaming sponsors. Find out how some savvy politics, a favorable tax structure and a little competition made all the difference.
Without input from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB), the Illinois legislature and newly ascended Gov. Patrick Quinn have made video poker devices legal in bars, restaurants and truck stops across the state, as well as in facilities operated by fraternal and veteran organizations. Establishments where liquor is sold may operate devices only during hours when liquor can be legally sold.
